Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel
Requires every non-career executive branch appointee hired on or after January 20, 2021, to sign a binding ethics pledge covering lobbyist gift bans, revolving-door restrictions, golden parachute prohibitions, and merit-based hiring commitments.
Establishes enforceable post-government employment limits of up to two years — or the remainder of the Administration — and gives the Attorney General authority to seek civil injunctions and financial disgorgement against former appointees who breach their pledges.
What this order does
What it orders
The order directs every non-career presidential and vice-presidential appointee across executive agencies, including the Executive Office of the President, to sign a binding ethics pledge as a condition of employment. The pledge prohibits accepting gifts from registered lobbyists, bars appointees from working on matters involving former employers or clients for two years, extends post-government lobbying bans for the remainder of the Administration or two years (whichever is later), forbids accepting "golden parachute" payments from former employers, and requires that hiring decisions be made on merit alone. Agency heads must establish procedures to collect and retain signed pledges and implement compliance programs.
The Director of the Office of Management and Budget may grant written waivers on public-interest grounds, and all waivers must be made public within ten days. The Office of Government Ethics is directed to produce an annual public report on pledge administration, as well as separate reports to the President on procurement-lobbying disclosure and on expanding revolving-door bans to all employees involved in federal contracting.
Who it affects
Every full-time, non-career presidential or vice-presidential appointee, Senior Executive Service non-career appointee, and Schedule C (confidential/policymaking) appointee hired on or after January 20, 2021, across all executive agencies. Former appointees who leave government are also bound by post-employment restrictions.
Why it matters
Lobbyists and former private-sector officials entering government face strict two-year cooling-off periods on related matters; those leaving face lobbying bans lasting up to the full Administration. Violations can result in agency debarment and civil court action, including repayment of profits to the U.S. Treasury.
What must happen and when
How the order is supposed to work
Each agency head, in consultation with the Office of Government Ethics, must set up intake procedures so appointees sign the pledge on day one. Ethics agreements address pledge paragraph 3 (the lobbyist ban) and must be approved by the Counsel to the President before an appointee begins work. Waivers go through the OMB Director and become public within ten days. Enforcement runs through agency debarment proceedings or Justice Department civil litigation; the Attorney General can seek injunctions and a constructive trust requiring disgorgement of any financial benefit gained through a breach.
Actions and deadlines
- Require every new appointee to sign the ethics pledge upon assuming office
- Establish agency rules and procedures to implement pledge compliance, ethics agreements, and spousal conflict reviews
- Make waiver certifications public after signing by OMB Director
- Report to the President on procurement lobbying disclosure and recommendations for expanding disclosure, including possible legislation
- Report to the President on steps to expand the revolving-door ban to all executive branch procurement employees
- Provide an annual public report on administration of the pledge and this order