更新于：2026年2月18日 / 美国东部时间上午10:19 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻（CBS News）
美国国会四名民主党议员正要求16个不同联邦机构的最高内部监察机构调查，特朗普政府任命的前说客是否违背道德准则，为其前客户谋取利益。
马萨诸塞州参议员伊丽莎白·沃伦（Elizabeth Warren）、新泽西州参议员安迪·金（Andy Kim）、纽约州众议员帕特·瑞安（Pat Ryan）和北卡罗来纳州众议员黛博拉·罗斯（Deborah Ross）致信监察长办公室，对包括总检察长帕姆·邦迪（Pam Bondi）、边境问题负责人汤姆·霍曼（Tom Homan）、交通部长肖恩·达菲（Sean Duffy）和白宫办公厅主任苏西·怀尔斯（Susie Wiles）在内的多名前说客转任政府官员表示关切。
“尽管联邦道德法要求联邦雇员不得处理涉及他们过去一年曾代表的客户的事务，但我们担心一些特朗普政府官员可能仍然这么做了，”四名议员在信中写道。
“即使他们遵守这一最低要求，仅仅12个月后，他们与前客户的关系往往仍然新鲜，足以不当影响其决策。”
他们向包括司法部、五角大楼、财政部、国务院、卫生与公众服务部、国土安全部和环境保护局在内的16个机构的监察长发送了这封信。
根据竞选法律中心（Campaign Legal Center）的一份报告，截至2025年4月，至少有21名前说客被任命担任政府关键领导职务。
联邦道德准则一般禁止政府雇员在一年内不得处理涉及前雇主或客户的事务。在特朗普第一任期内，他将回避期延长至两年，不过在其第二任期内并未发表任何道德承诺。
邦迪和怀尔斯在加入特朗普政府之前都曾就职于游说公司Ballard Partners。
议员们指控，自邦迪执掌司法部以来，Ballard的一些客户获得了有利待遇。例如，该部门撤回了对美国运通公司（American Express）与GBT公司合并的反对意见。
议员们还指出，Paramount和Netflix都聘请了Ballard Partners，因为它们都寻求与华纳兄弟探索频道（Warner Brothers Discovery）合并。Paramount是拥有哥伦比亚广播公司新闻（CBS News）的母公司。
与此同时，达菲曾为BGR集团担任说客，并代表”公平与开放天空联盟”（Partnership for Fair and Open Skies）。议员们表示，自达菲获得确认以来，BGR的美国交通部（DOT）游说名单已从拜登政府时期的14家扩展到19家客户。
怀尔斯此前也曾在Mercury公共事务公司工作——议员们指出，该公司在2025年曾为26个不同的客户游说白宫，信中提到。
这封信还提到了对霍曼的担忧。截至去年，霍曼是联邦调查局（FBI）贿赂调查的目标，消息人士称，他被指收受了一名卧底FBI探员携带的装有5万美元现金的袋子，据称这是为换取未来政府合同的付款。消息人士此前已向哥伦比亚广播公司新闻确认了这一点。
司法部副部长托德·布兰奇（Todd Blanche）后来公开承认存在这一调查，并表示，在FBI发现”没有可靠证据表明存在任何刑事不当行为”后，调查已被关闭。
霍曼还单独否认有任何不当行为，并声称自己没有接受任何金钱。
截至发稿时，美国司法部、白宫和交通部的发言人未能立即置评。
詹妮弗·雅各布斯（Jennifer Jacobs）对本报道有贡献。
Democratic lawmakers ask watchdogs to probe whether former lobbyists serving in Trump administration violated ethics rules
Updated on: February 18, 2026 / 10:19 AM EST / CBS News
Four Democratic members of Congress are asking the top internal watchdogs at 16 different federal agencies to investigate whether former lobbyists appointed by the Trump administration may have violated ethics rules to benefit their own former clients.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Andy Kim of New Jersey and Reps. Pat Ryan of New York and Deborah Ross of North Carolina wrote to the inspectors general to raise concerns about a variety of former lobbyists-turned-government officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, border czar Tom Homan, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.
“While federal ethics law directs federal employees not to work on matters involving clients they represented in the past year, we are concerned that some Trump administration officials may have nevertheless done so,” the four lawmakers wrote.
“And even when they comply with that minimal requirement, after a mere 12 months, their former-client relationships often remain fresh enough to improperly sway their decision-making.”
They sent the letter to the inspectors general at 16 different agencies, including the Justice Department, the Pentagon, the Treasury Department, the State Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Homeland Security and the Environmental Protection Agency.
As of April 2025, there were at least 21 former lobbyists who were appointed to key leadership roles in the government, according to a report by the Campaign Legal Center.
Federal ethics rules generally bar government employees for one year from working on matters involving their former employers or clients. During Mr. Trump’s first term in office, he extended the recusal period to two years, though he has not issued any sort of ethics pledge during his second term in office.
Before joining the Trump administration, both Bondi and Wiles worked for the lobbying firm Ballard Partners.
Since Bondi took over the helm of the Justice Department, the lawmakers allege that some of Ballard’s clients have received favorable treatment. The department dropped its opposition, for example, to the American Express-GBT merger, the letter says.
The lawmakers also noted that Ballard was retained by both Paramount and Netflix as they both seek to merge with Warner Brothers Discovery. Paramount is the parent company that owns CBS News.
Duffy, meanwhile, used to work as a lobbyist for BGR Group and represented the Partnership for Fair and Open Skies, the lawmaker said. The lawmakers said that since Duffy’s confirmation, BGR has “expanded its DOT lobbying roster to 19 clients,” from 14 during the Biden administration.
Wiles also previously worked for Mercury Public Affairs — a firm the lawmakers noted reported lobbying the White House for 26 different clients in 2025, the letter says.
The letter also cites concerns about Homan, who until last year was the target of an FBI bribery investigation in which sources say he recorded accepting a bag with $50,000 in cash from an undercover FBI agent as an alleged payment in exchange for future government contracts, sources previously confirmed to CBS News.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche later publicly acknowledged the existence of the investigation and said it was closed after the FBI found “no credible evidence of any criminal wrongdoing.”
Homan has also separately denied any wrongdoing and claimed he did not accept any money.
Spokespeople for the Justice Department, the White House and the Department of Transportation could not be immediately reached for comment.
Jennifer Jacobs contributed to this report.
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