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On his first day in office, President Biden issued a robust ethics executive order that is “designed to restore and maintain public trust in government.” https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-ethic-commitments-by-executive-branch-personnel/
This is a significant first step towards rebuilding the guardrails of democratic governance that have been shattered during the last four years. And it’s something for which the Brennan Center has advocated as a top priority for the new administration. https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/2020-10/ExecutiveActionsReport.pdf
As the report says, we need executive actions to
1. Remove political interference from law enforcement
2. Bring science back to policy
3. Strengthen checks and balances
4. Improve campaign finance enforcement
5. Bolster election security and voter access
1. Remove political interference from law enforcement
2. Bring science back to policy
3. Strengthen checks and balances
4. Improve campaign finance enforcement
5. Bolster election security and voter access
But if the last four years have taught us anything, it’s that we shouldn’t count on future presidents to abide by fundamental principles of ethical government. That’s why Congress also needs to act.
The Brennan Center’s bipartisan National Task Force on Rule of Law & Democracy has put out a comprehensive agenda for legislative action to modernize ethics laws and insulate law enforcement agencies from improper political pressure. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/policy-solutions/proposals-reform-national-task-force-rule-law-democracy
The Task Force has also crafted proposals for legislation to address other critical aspects of governance: ensuring that federal government leaders are ethical and qualified, and protecting government scientists and research from politicization. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/policy-solutions/proposals-reform-volume-ii-national-task-force-rule-law-democracy
There’s momentum in Congress for these reforms. Notably, the For the People Act, introduced as H.R. 1 and S. 1, would revamp ethics rules, ensuring that federal officials serve the public interest. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/brennan-center-comment-senates-designation-people-act-s-1
