On Tuesday, Vox’s Ezra Klein published a piece arguing that the real threat to America’s system of government isn’t President Trump, but a Congress that won’t do its job. There’s a whole section devoted to Representative Jason Chaffetz, who chairs the House Oversight Committee. While it’s Chaffetz’s job to hold Trump accountable, the only Trump-related item on his 43-item to-do list is reforming the Office of Government Ethics, which Republicans criticized for speaking out about Trump’s business conflicts.
In light of this, it’s even more bizarre that, following his first visit to the Oval Office on Tuesday, Chaffetz felt it was important to emphasize that Trump wouldn’t even allow him to discuss his ability to investigate the administration to ensure it is adhering to ethical standards.
“Before my bum even hit the chair, the president said, ‘No oversight. You can’t talk about anything that has to do with oversight,’” Chaffetz said.
The Utah congressman said the president was inquisitive and “chit-chatty,” according to Politico. They discussed Postal Service reforms, undoing President Obama’s creation of the Bear Ears National Monument, embassy security, and reducing the costs of the federal workforce. Chaffetz said they also talked about the size of Trump’s election win, but not his vow to continue investigating Hillary Clinton’s private email server.
After the grab-’em-by-the-pussy video, Chaffetz unendorsed Trump, explaining that he wouldn’t be able to look his 15-year-old daughter in the eye if he backed such a man. Eventually Chaffetz decided he found Hillary Clinton even more loathsome, and it seems that, post-election, his opinion of Trump has improved drastically. Per The Wall Street Journal:
Mr. Chaffetz’s visit to the White House was unusual. House members who are not in leadership rarely get a one-on-one sit down meeting with the president.
But Mr. Chaffetz said that it appeared to be part of an effort to build better relations with Congress. “This is such a sea change from President Obama who essentially gave us the stiff arm,” Mr. Chaffetz said. “This is just so much better — it’s so interactive.”
Trump may have bragged about sexual assault on video, but it’s just nice to see a little decorum in the White House.
