Drain the Swamp Act would take Executive Order 13989, which establishes ethics commitments for executive branch personnel, and convert it into statutory law. In plain terms, the bill would make the ethics requirements that currently exist only as an executive directive binding as a matter of statute, thereby giving them the force of law across the federal executive branch. This would apply to executive branch personnel and would be binding regardless of which political party or administration is in power, because changing statutory law requires Congress. By codifying EO 13989, the bill aims to strengthen and stabilize the ethical framework governing federal officials—ensuring commitments to ethics, avoidance of conflicts of interest, and related duties are legally enforceable rather than dependent on ongoing executive orders. The text does not add new substantive rules beyond what is in the executive order; it simply elevates the existing ethics commitments to statutory status and the machinery that enforces them.
Key Points
- 1Codifies Executive Order 13989 into statute, giving its ethics commitments the force of law.
- 2Applies to executive branch personnel across the federal government.
- 3Creates a legally binding framework that survives changes in administration, enhancing continuity of ethics policy.
- 4Establishes that the ethics commitments are enforceable as statutory obligations (through the usual federal enforcement and oversight channels).
- 5Does not outline new substantive ethics requirements beyond those already set forth in EO 13989; preserves the existing scope of the order as law.