Trump's controversial Cabinet picks raise questions about lower ethical standards; ABC News, December 4, 2024

 Ivan Pereira, ABC News; Trump's controversial Cabinet picks raise questions about lower ethical standards

"Queen said there is a possibility that some Republican senators may put ethics before partisanship when all is said and done.

"It's not unreasonable to assume that there are a number of senators who realize there will be consequences of their choices and their decisions that it will be bad for the country as a whole," he said.

In the long term, Hanson said it is unclear if Trump's selections will usher in a new norm of presidential picks who buck ethics and experience standards.

He noted that American history has shown several cycles of reform brought on by demand of a public frustrated with dysfunction and improper behavior, such as in the aftermath of the Nixon administration in the 1970s.

"Now that they see what is happening, they may be reminded what the Trump presidency was like the first time around," he said of Americans who supported him. "There may be a bunch of people who say this is not what I voted for, and that could affect things tremendously."

Spinner-Halev said the future will depend on how informed the public is over the next four years.

"There is a lot that happens in Washington that's not in the public eye, and I think it's important that the public keeps an eye on the bureaucratic ongoings," he said."

Senate confirms Biden’s ethics czar, who will remain under Trump; Government Executive, November 14, 2024

 Eric Katz, Government Executive; Senate confirms Biden’s ethics czar, who will remain under Trump

"The Senate on Thursday confirmed President Biden’s nominee to serve as head of the Office of Government Ethics in a 50-46 vote, giving him a term that will last through President-elect Trump’s tenure. 

David Huitema, currently a State Department ethics official, will now serve in the governmentwide ethics czar role in a five-year term. Senate Democrats sought to prioritize his confirmation in the waning days of the Biden administration and their control of the chamber before Trump’s inauguration, as the former and future president once again brings with him to the Oval Office a bevy of potential conflicts of interest. 

Bringing Huitema’s role more into the foreground is Trump’s decision to so far refuse to sign agreements with the Biden administration, and the ethics agreements that go with them, that enable a formal presidential transition to take place. Absent those agreements, Trump’s teams have been unable to deploy into agencies and receive briefings from career staff. 

OGE has been without a confirmed director for more than a year, when Trump-appointee Emory Rounds’ term expired. Shelley Finlayson, chief of staff and program counsel at the ethics agency, has filled in on an acting basis. During his first term, Trump bypassed Finlayson in a period without a confirmed director to instead install another career official as acting director."

Why the Supreme Court’s wasted time on ethics may cost it; CNN, November 1, 2023

Joan Biskupic, CNN; Why the Supreme Court’s wasted time on ethics may cost it

"Supreme Court justices, who have infinite power over American lives, have continually resisted calls for greater accountability in a formal code of conduct.

Some justices recently signaled that they might be ready to adopt a binding ethics code. But their record of inaction reflects the difficulty of compromise among the nine and suggests any real change may not come at their own hand.

The delay has had consequences.

Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats plan to authorize subpoenas for three wealthy conservatives, including real estate magnate Harlan Crow, who has provided luxury travel and other gifts to Justice Clarence Thomas."

Transcript: US Senate Judiciary Hearing on Oversight of A.I.; Tech Policy Press, September 13, 2023

Gabby Miller, Tech Policy Press; Transcript: US Senate Judiciary Hearing on Oversight of A.I.

"Artificial Intelligence (AI) is in the spotlight only a week into the U.S. Congress’ return from recess. On Tuesday, the Senate held two AI-focused Subcommittee hearings just a day before the first AI Insight Forum hosted by Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY).

Tuesday’s hearing before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law was led by Chairman Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Ranking Member Josh Hawley (R-MO), another of a series of hearings in the committee on how best to govern artificial intelligence. It also corresponded with their formal introduction of a bipartisan bill by Sens. Blumenthal and Hawley that would deny AI companies Section 230 immunity. 

• Woodrow Hartzog, Professor of Law, Boston University School of Law Fellow, Cordell Institute for Policy in Medicine & Law, Washington University in St. Louis (written testimony)
• William Dally, Chief Scientist and Senior Vice President of Research, NVIDIA Corporation (written testimony)
• Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President, Microsoft Corporation (written testimony)

(Microsoft’s Smith will also be in attendance for Sen. Schumer’s first AI Insight Forum on Wednesday and NVIDIA’s CEO, Jensen Huang, will be joining him.)"

Senators to introduce bill aimed at strengthening ethical guidelines in the Supreme Court; CNN, April 26, 2023

Lauren Fox and Shawna Mizelle,, CNN ; Senators to introduce bill aimed at strengthening ethical guidelines in the Supreme Court

"A bipartisan pair of senators will introduce legislation on Wednesday that aims to implement new ethics standards on the Supreme Court, though it would still grant the high court extensive power to police itself.

The “Supreme Court Code of Conduct Act,” to be introduced by Independent Maine Sen. Angus King, who caucuses with Democrats, and Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, would require the nation’s highest court to enact its own code of conduct within a year of the bill passing. 

Under the legislation, the court would have the power to “initiate investigations as needed to determine if any Supreme Court justices or staff may have engaged in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice or that violates other federal laws or codes of conduct.” 

The legislation would also require the court to lay out the rules on its website, name an official to handle complaints about violations of those rules (which could come from anyone including the public), and then require that official to publish an annual report chronicling actions taken in response to any of those complaints."

Chief Justice Roberts declines Sen. Durbin request to testify on ethics; The Washington Post, April 25, 2023

Robert Barnes, The Washington Post; Chief Justice Roberts declines Sen. Durbin request to testify on ethics

"Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. told Senate leaders Tuesday he would “respectfully decline” to testify at a Senate hearing focused on the Supreme Court, offering instead a statement signed by all the justices in which they “reaffirm and restate foundational ethics principles and practices” to which they abide.

There did not seem to be new proposals or guidelines in the “Statement on Ethics Principles and Practices.” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) immediately labeled it insufficient, noting recent revelations about Justice Clarence Thomas that the senator said illustrate the need for more scrutiny.

“I am surprised that the Chief Justice’s recounting of existing legal standards of ethics suggests current law is adequate and ignores the obvious," Durbin said in a statement." 

Roberts invited to testify at Senate hearing on Supreme Court ethics; NPR, April 20, 2023

Dustin Jones, NPR ; Roberts invited to testify at Senate hearing on Supreme Court ethics

"The chair of the Senate Judiciary committee has invited Chief Justice John Roberts to testify at a hearing next month focused on the ethical rules governing the Supreme Court as well as potential changes to those guidelines. 

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. said in a letter to Roberts on Thursday that recent reports found the justices are "falling short" of the ethical standards they and other public servants are supposed to follow. 

"The status quo is no longer tenable," Durbin wrote.

The call for Roberts' testimony comes at a turbulent time for the court and its members. Concerns surrounding the lifetime appointees involve Justice Clarence Thomas, who, according to an investigation by ProPublica, failed to disclose 20 years of luxury trips with billionaire and Republican donor Harlan Crow."

WIPO Marrakesh Treaty On Copyright Exceptions For Blind Readers Clears US Senate; Intellectual Property Watch, June 29, 2018

Intellectual Property Watch; WIPO Marrakesh Treaty On Copyright Exceptions For Blind Readers Clears US Senate

"The World Intellectual Property Organization Marrakesh Treaty on copyright exceptions enabling international access to published works by blind and print-disabled readers was ratified this week by the United States Senate, putting it one step closer to final ratification in the country.  

The Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print-Disabled was agreed in 2013.

On 28 June, the full US Senate ratified treaty and passed implementing legislation to amend Title 17 accordingly, the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act (S. 2559).

The implementing legislation now goes to the US House of Representatives, and then on to the President, according to the bill summary. The US will then have to prepare and deposit its instrument of ratification to WIPO."

Senate fails its Zuckerberg test; CNN, April 11, 2018

Dylan Byers, CNN; Senate fails its Zuckerberg test

"Congress doesn't understand Facebook.

Mark Zuckerberg emerged unscathed from Tuesday's Senate committee hearing, and he did so in large part because most of the senators who asked him questions had no clue how Facebook worked, what the solutions to its problems are, or even what they were trying to achieve by calling its CEO to testify, other than getting some good soundbites in.

What the first day of the Zuckerberg hearings made clear is that many American lawmakers are illiterate when it comes to 21st century technology."

At Long Last, a Sensible Internet of Things Security Bill Has Been Introduced in the Senate; Slate, August 3, 3017

Josephine Wolff, Slate; At Long Last, a Sensible Internet of Things Security Bill Has Been Introduced in the Senate

"On Aug. 1, a group of senators introduced a bill, the Internet of Things Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2017, that could make some strides toward securing the ever-growing number of online devices that, generally, comprise the so-called “Internet of Things.”

The bill would require that any such devices sold to the U.S. government must be patchable (i.e., allow for security updates), not have any known security vulnerabilities, and permit users to change their default passwords. The bill leans heavily on the considerable technical expertise of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the nonregulatory government agency that develops standards for different technologies."

McCain Got the Credit, But Don't Forget: Collins and Murkowski Killed This Bill; Slate, July 28, 2017

Jeremy Stahl, Slate; McCain Got the Credit, But Don't Forget: Collins and Murkowski Killed This Bill

"Ultimately, McCain swooped in to save the day in dramatic fashion. He deserves the praise he is getting for it. But it was Murkowski and Collins more than anybody that ensured the defeat of Trumpcare, and maybe the survival of Obamacare."

John McCain Defends Health Care Vote As ‘The Right Thing To Do’; Huff Post, July 28, 2017

Alana Horowitz Satlin, Huff Post; John McCain Defends Health Care Vote As ‘The Right Thing To Do’

"McCain told reporters that he thought voting no “was the right thing to do.”"