After President Trump previewed his delay of tariffs on Truth Social, Gallego and Schiff raise alarm on potential for self-enrichment by Trump family and White House officials who knew of impending announcement
WASHINGTON — Today, Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) demanded that the White House provide information about potential violations of federal ethics and insider trading laws prior to President Donald Trump’s announcement yesterday pausing the implementation of some of his previously announced steep and widespread tariffs or prior to previous announcements of changes in tariff policy.
The Senators also demanded that the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) investigate potential conflicts of interest, including whether any White House or executive branch officials, to include special government employees such as Elon Musk, were informed of the announcement in advance and what financial transactions were made by officials with knowledge of non-public information.
“The apparent conflict of interest issues President Trump’s announcement presents regarding Mr. Musk apply to all White House and executive branch employees – including special government employees – who may have had access to non-public information regarding the deliberations and ultimate changes in tariff policy,” the Senators wrote.
The Senators request an accounting of which White House or Trump administration officials were part of the deliberations on the change in policy or announcement, and whether those individuals made stock transactions or communicated with financial proxies ahead of the announcement. The Senators also seek to understand any potential notification the President’s family may have had prior to the change in policy.
The Senators’ letter cites the social media posts made by President Trump on the morning of the announced change, where followers were encouraged to “BUY” in the hours before the change in tariff policy.
Last week, Senator Gallego introduced legislation to establish an inspector general at the U.S. Trade Representative to bring greater transparency and accountability to tariff and trade policy decisions. This bill would help prevent President Trump from using tariff exclusions to benefit his billionaire friends instead of small businesses and workers who can’t afford high-priced lobbyists.
The full letter text can be found HERE.
4/10/25