According to a report, five weeks into his administration, the Biden White House has yet to make good on its commitment to release visitor logs.
The daily schedule for President and Vice President Kamala Harris has also not been posted online, the White House comment line has closed and the White House website does not list the civil petitions, the report published on Monday By POLITICO adds up.
The administration has said that it intends to make visitor logs public, but it will not disclose the names of people attending virtual meetings – a major mode of communication during the COVID epidemic.
The White House would not comment on some policies, such as the Citizens’ Petition but reiterated Biden’s pledge for “ethics and transparency” in a statement by Politico.
“President Biden committed to the government during a campaign to restore ethics and transparency, and in his first weeks in office he took significant steps to deliver on that, including restoring daily press briefings, broad ethics guidelines for administration , And pledging to re-issue visitor logs regularly, ”spokesman Mike Jeevin told the outlet.
Good government groups are urging the administration to vow its openness.
“The actions they take are welcome, but insufficient for the moment and the need,” said Politico.
“They need to” keep on doing their work “by opening cabinet meetings, disclosing information and using political capital to emphasize that ‘being open by default’ is not just an option, but The government has an obligation.
Some groups have sent letters to the White House calling for a change in policy, and the Brookings Institution has petitioned for greater transparency in the 70-page ethics report.
“We have now come to know that the system was very weak,” said Político. “And we are going through four years of fighting to get any documents to the teeth and nails and we need [Biden] To set up a new system so that the next administration follows them. “
Norm Eisen, a fellow of Brookings and Obama’s “Principles of Ethics”, said he understands the limitations of issuing all online meetings but the administration should make an effort.
“For the COVID era when it is being done so remotely, there should be a habitat for it,” Eisen said.
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