New White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has imposed tighter rules regarding personnel meeting with lobbyists, after several former top officials alleged corruption within the Trump administration.
“No President in history has fought more relentlessly, selflessly or courageously for the American People than President Trump. Following his example, White House staff are expected to dedicate their time unwaveringly to the working people of the nation,” the White House Chief of Staff’s Office said in a Nov. 12 memorandum to staffers, a White House spokesperson told The Epoch Times via email on Friday.
“White House staff must receive prior approval from the Office of White House Counsel for meetings on the White House complex with registered lobbyists related to government policy.”
The memo did not cover meetings outside of the White House complex. It said personnel with questions can contact the Office of Public Liaison.
“This is a much stricter process than before,” a White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Epoch Times via email.
Calley Means, a former adviser to the White House and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., was among the former officials recently alleging that payments influenced Trump administration policy. He alleged that former Chief of Staff Susie Wiles told him she needed money from the sugar industry to win the midterm elections.
Wiles, who could not be reached, was recently replaced with Miller, a longtime Trump adviser. President Donald Trump told reporters that a change was needed, and that Wiles was shifting to his political operation. The White House said outside groups were never allowed to influence policy decisions.
Means’s comments drew attention from Democrats, who are set to gain control of the House of Representatives and Senate in the next Congress.
“Yet another example of Trump Administration officials prioritizing corporate interest over public interest,” Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said on X.
“The corruption knows no bounds,” Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) said.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, recently said that Democrats could start an investigation into Wiles after they take control of the House.
He referenced looking into “any sort of conversations that the former chief of staff was having around donors and money in exchange for policy choices.”
A White House lawyer told Garcia in a recent letter that Congress can conduct oversight, but must identify “a legitimate legislative purpose” underlying investigative acts.
“We are monitoring the abusive and capricious threats that are now proliferating from Democrat legislators who seek to abuse the legislative process to intimidate and to interfere with the lawful functioning of government,” counsel Will Scharf wrote.
Garcia said in response: “The American people voted overwhelmingly for us to pass laws to root out corruption and abuse. The Trump Administration continues to weaponize the government with threats of unconstitutional attacks on Congress. We are a co-equal branch of government and will not be deterred by baseless threats from a weaponized [Department of Justice] or from the President’s lawyers.”
