A new report by the watchdog group, Protect the Public’s Trust, slammed multiple Biden cabinet members for their lack of transparency. In the report, the group accuses most leaders of federal agencies of purposefully hiding information about their daily schedules from the public, despite their predecessors doing so. The report notes the importance of transparency so that Americans can accurately gauge whether the official is actually serving the public interest and acting ethically.
According to The Washington Examiner:
“Considering all aspects, the Biden Administration’s Cabinet is largely failing to live up to their transparency goals,” the watchdog group said in its report. “Nearly every Department PPT reviewed simply does not offer the public a meaningful opportunity to hold the agency accountable in a timely manner when it comes to major policy decisions and concerns over potential misconduct.”
The watchdog group found that the leaders of 12 of the 19 federal agencies it analyzed failed to provide any information to the public on their daily schedules. Notable officials that received failing marks include Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.
Attorney General Merrick Garland, for example, has not disclosed any information about his daily schedule to the public since his confirmation in March, while the calendars for his predecessors, former Attorneys General William Barr and Jeff Sessions, are available in the Department of Justice’s Freedom of Information Act Library.
“Transparency is a foundational element of the American system of government,” Protect the Public’s Trust Director Michael Chamberlain said in a statement. “It’s also important for agencies to be proactive about providing this information, which is vital for the American public’s ability to ascertain who is influencing policymakers at the highest levels.”
The report noted that while some officials from the Trump administration were also criticized for their lack of transparency it was not at the same level the watchdog group has seen with the current administration.
