US ethics chief steps down following clashes with White House

Walter Shaub, director of the independent US Office of Government Ethics, has resigned six months before his term in office was due to expire.

"There isn't much more I could accomplish at the Office of Government Ethics, given the current situation," Shaub said.

According to NPR, "the move follows months of clashes with the White House over issues such as President [Donald] Trump's refusal to divest his businesses and the administration's delay in disclosing ethics waivers for appointees".

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His departure "is likely to spur anxiety among ethics officials and critics of the president who viewed him as one of the few federal officials who had been willing to speak out", the Washington Post reports.

In his resignation letter, Shaub said that the conduct of the current administration had made it "clear that we need to strengthen the ethics program".

The Office of Government Ethics sets guidelines intended to prevent conflicts of interest for government employees, "but has limited means to enforce federal ethics rules, aside from publicly raising questions about possible conflicts", the Wall Street Journal says.