When Donald Trump first took office eight years ago, he promised to “drain the swamp” and put an end to the influence of Washington lobbyists. Fast forward to today, and it seems he’s taking a very different approach in his second term.
On his first day back in the White House, Trump signed an executive order that rolled back key ethics rules that were put in place by President Joe Biden just four years ago. The new order opens the door for executive branch employees to accept gifts from lobbyists, and it lifts the two-year ban that prevented lobbyists from seeking jobs in the executive branch – or vice versa.
But the changes don’t stop there. Trump’s personal ventures are also making waves. He’s set to launch a new cryptocurrency token that’s already seeing a surge in value, while First Lady Melania Trump has secured a documentary deal with Amazon.
Meanwhile, Trump’s business, the Trump Organization, has introduced a new voluntary agreement that prevents making deals with foreign governments, but keeps the door wide open for deals with private companies abroad.
Critics, like Lisa Gilbert from Public Citizen, are calling this a recipe for disaster. She argues that Trump is opening the floodgates for conflicts of interest and using his position for personal gain. According to her, instead of focusing on what Americans need, Trump seems more interested in lining his pockets with new deals.
But let’s not forget – this isn’t exactly a surprise. During his previous campaign, Trump was known for selling everything from bibles to diamond-encrusted watches, all in the name of political success.
However, this move marks a sharp departure from his first term. Back then, Trump signed an ethics order that barred executive branch employees from becoming lobbyists for five years. By 2020, just before leaving office, he loosened those rules, following a pattern of rolling back ethical commitments seen with previous presidents like Bill Clinton.
The idea of “draining the swamp” was a central part of Trump’s 2016 campaign, but over the years, it has shifted from a rallying cry to more of a distant memory. Supporters still chant “Drain the Swamp!” at rallies, but the question now is, does Trump still care about clearing out Washington’s corruption, or is he more interested in capitalizing on his power to make big money?
While the White House didn’t answer questions about whether Trump plans to replace Biden’s ethics rules with his own, legal experts like Rob Kelner suggest it might not be necessary. With so many rules already in place, any new rules could be redundant. Instead, scrapping Biden’s order may provide more job options for former Democrats looking for work, removing a barrier they would have otherwise faced.
One thing’s clear: Trump’s second term is shaping up to be very different from the one he promised eight years ago.
