EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20503

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5'5, 
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THE DIRECTOR May 26, 2017

Walter Shaub

Director

Of?ce of Government Ethics

1201 New York Avenue NW. Suite 500
Washington, D.C. 20005

Dear Director Shaub:

Thank you for your May 22, 2017, letter regarding the Of?ce of Management and
Budget's (OMB) request that the Of?ce of Government Ethics (OGE) stay its data call seeking
copies of certain waivers and authorizations of appointees in Federal agencies and the White
House.

OMB shares the belief that the Executive Branch must uphold the highest ethical
standards in accordance with the law. Your letter, however, does not appropriately characterize
OMB's request for a stay, nor our intentions in sending the letter. Contrary to your assertions,
OMB has never sought to impede OGE nor to prevent others, including agencies, from acting as
required by law. OMB merely requested that OGE temporarily delay the return date of the data
call to ensure suf?cient consideration was given to legal questions, including the most
appropriate manner in which to handle data of the type requested. OMB will continue to explore
these questions with your staff and, as necessary, the Department of Justice's Of?ce of Legal
Counsel.

Put another way, our concern was, and is, protecting the process related to the data call.
We have no objection to the substance of the call. Accordingly, OMB is voluntarily providing
the information you requested: OMB did not issue or approve any waivers or authorizations
requested by the OGE data call.

Sincerely,

 

Mick Mulvaney
Director

cc: Curtis E. Gannon, Acting Assistant Attorney General
Of?ce of Legal Counsel, US. Department of Justice
Agency General Counsels and Designated Agency Ethics Of?cials