From Citizen to Secretary: Disclosure Requirements and Presidential Transitions

Welcome to the November 2024 edition of our newsletter!  In this issue, we’ll examine disclosure requirements for incoming White House officials.

Transparency Into Every Corner: the Price of Serving Your Country

With every changing Presidential administration, executives from varied fields jostle to gain influence and serve in the new Cabinet.  Many come from lucrative fields like finance and fast-paced, innovating industries, and may be surprised at what they’re required to disclose both as they begin the Senate confirmation process and after taking office.

Executive branch financial disclosures require items such as any corporate interests — including individual pass-through entities such as subchapter S corporations – to be disclosed, as well as equity investment and retirement accounts; any outside income exceeding $5,000 in a given year – speaking fees, book contracts, and the like – as well as sources of income from a filer’s spouse.

Nominees who are subject to U.S. Senate confirmation must file a similar disclosure with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.  “When potential conflicts are identified, ethics officials identify steps that the nominee will need to take to avoid the conflicts and document those steps in an ethics agreement,” the agency said on its web site.  “Once the financial disclosure report and ethics agreement are finalized, OGE preclears (i.e., tentatively approves) the nominee financial disclosure report and ethics agreement and awaits the announcement of the President’s nomination or the President-elect’s intent to nominate the nominee.”  The correspondence issued during this process also becomes subject to the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, although certain information may fall under that act’s exemption regarding an “unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.”

Financial considerations are, of course, not the only aspect to consider when researching potential appointees and considering the impact their positions might have on your company or industry.  But a thorough review of these public records, and their utility as leads toward other research where warranted, can be helpful in identifying areas of concern and potential conflicts of interest concerning an incoming administration.