Children of President Biden's aides have been getting hired for administration positions, and ethics experts aren't thrilled.
At least five children of Biden's top aides have been tapped for jobs in the administration, sparking "concerns from ethics experts, diversity advocates and others," The Washington Post reported. Most recently, the Treasury Department hired the son of Biden counselor Steve Ricchetti.
"While it may not be as bad as appointing your son or daughter to a top government post as Trump did with Jared and Ivanka, it is still bad," Walter Shaub, former Office of Government Ethics director, told the Post. "'Not as bad as Trump' cannot be the new standard."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The White House counselor's two sons and daughter, a deputy White House chief of staff's daughter, and the director of presidential personnel's daughter have also been hired for administration jobs, according to the report. Additionally, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain's wife and White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki's sister have scored jobs or nominations. Biden has pledged members of his family won't be involved in government, but the Post writes that ethics experts find it "disappointing" he didn't go further in breaking from President Donald Trump's hiring practices.
Deputy White House press secretary Andrew Bates told the Post that "the president has instituted the highest ethical standards of anyone to ever hold this office" and that his administration is staffed with "well-qualified public servants." The Post also writes there's "no evidence that any of Biden's aides have played a role in securing the jobs for their children or other relatives."
Still, Shaub questioned how "these children of political appointees" can "be the only people who are qualified," and he also wrote on Twitter that he's "disgusted" because "a lot of us worked hard to tee [Biden] up to restore ethics to government and believed the promises," and "this is a a real 'f--- you' to us — and government ethics."
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.