ICYMI: How One Senator Helped His Colleagues Get Answers from the Executive Branch
Charles S. Cook writes at Government Executive:
“The White House is no longer rigidly defending a Justice Department opinion that the Trump administration was using to instruct agencies to respond only to majority party committee chairmen when answering oversight questions.
“Giving some ground in an area that has been a bone of contention with Democratic lawmakers who feel ignored, White House Legislative Affairs Director Marc Short in a July 20 letter assured Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, that agencies will broaden their responsiveness…. One reason Grassley was able to draw out the White House, according to staff investigative counsel DeLisa Lay, is that he had placed a hold on President Trump’s nominee to head Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel, Steven Engel. Engel, Grassley noted, has now promised to review the OLC opinion that justified the Trump approach of having agencies respond only to committee chairmen….”
| Topics: | Legislative Procedure Oversight |
| Tags: | Charles S. Cook |