President Donald Trump has fired the federal government’s top ethics official just months into his five-year term, while also drawing a legal challenge for seeking to remove the head of the independent Office of Special Counsel.
The Office of Government Ethics on Monday posted a notice on its website stating, “OGE has been notified that the President is removing David Huitema as the Director of OGE.”
“OGE is reverting to an acting director,” the notice states.
The White House did not respond to an inquiry seeking more details on Huitema’s firing.
The Senate confirmed Huitema as OGE director in December. The position is typically a five-year term.
OGE is an independent agency that works to prevent conflicts of interest within the executive branch. The office would be deeply involved in helping resolve conflicts of interest for the new Trump administration’s procession of political appointees.
Huitema’s firing comes just days after Trump directed the removal of Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger, who had overseen the Office of Special Counsel since March 2024.
Dellinger is now suing Trump administration officials over his attempted removal. The Special Counsel position is typically a five-year term. Dellinger’s suit points to the law, which states the position can be terminated “only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”
The Office of Special Counsel is an independent agency charged with protecting federal employee rights and safeguarding the merit system. It investigates allegations of prohibited personnel practices, including whistleblower retaliation. The office also upholds the Hatch Act’s prohibition on partisan political activities for federal employees.
Faith Williams, director of the Effective and Accountable Government Program at the Project on Government Oversight, said the move to dismiss Dellinger could make potential whistleblowers less likely to raise the flag over fraud, waste and abuse.
“It’s a total chilling effect,” Williams said.
Stephen Kohn, chairman of the board of directors for the National Whistleblower Center, said the move to terminate Dellinger is “irresponsible and dangerous.”
“This action undermines a critical government program that has saved taxpayers billions of dollars and is designed to encourage reporting of waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars,” Kohn said in a statement. “The Office of Special Counsel also maintains confidential lists of hundreds or thousands of federal employees who have blown the whistle on serious fraud, waste, and abuse. All of whom are now in immediate danger of being exposed.”
Trump over the weekend also fired National Archivist of the United States Colleen Shogan, who had served on position since 2023. The Archivist has no fixed term, but the job is typically considered nonpartisan. The last permanent Archivist, David Ferriero, served in the position from 2009 to 2022.
The latest firings comes several weeks after Trump fired the inspectors general at 17 agencies without providing the required 30-day notification to Congress.
“I think it is a deliberate strategy to overwhelm and to come at all of the bulwarks against fraud and waste and ethics concerns all at once,” Williams said.
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