Ro Khanna introduces ‘Drain the Swamp Act’ to enforce anti-corruption measures in White House

California representative Ro Khanna is introducing legislation that would force White House officials to abide by strict anti-corruption measures after Donald Trump dismantled ethics rules established by his predecessor that turns the president’s own catchphrase against him.

The “Drain the Swamp Act” – shared exclusively with the Guardian and deliberately invoking Trump’s own 2016 campaign slogan – would convert into permanent law the ethics requirements previously established by executive order, including bans on lobbyist gifts and “revolving door” restrictions.

“He campaigned on draining the swamp, and yet he gets in there and he says, no, lobbyists can give gifts to White House officials,” Khanna said. “What I’m saying is that we need to ban lobbyists from giving gifts to White House officials, not just this administration, but for all administrations going forward.”

The congressman’s bill comes in direct response to Trump’s decision to rescind a Biden-era executive order on ethics rules upon returning to office in January. The legislation would prohibit appointees from accepting gifts from registered lobbyists, impose two-year cooling-off periods for officials entering and leaving government, and ban special “golden parachute” payments from former employers.

Trump’s commercial enterprises during his campaign – hawking everything from gold-plated sneakers to diamond watches and branded Bibles – showed a pattern of monetizing political influence that Khanna’s bill aims to address at the governmental level. The White House’s recent relaxation of ethics standards stands in contrast to his first administration, when he initially imposed a five-year lobbying ban on departing officials – only to nullify those same restrictions during his final days in office in 2020.

Khanna, one of a faction of Congress who refuses all political action committee and lobbyist donations, said what he sees is hypocrisy in the current administration.

“We started out with a meme coin. I mean, that was the most blatant violation. That’s like having a Swiss bank account open, where people can just buy your meme coin, the world doesn’t know about it, and they can come and show you that they did it,” Khanna said. “There is a total regression on ethics standards, and, of course, the politicization of the civil service.”

While still in very early stages, the plan would be to have the justice department’s public integrity section take the lead should the bill pass, according to Khanna.

However, the measure appears silent on independent oversight mechanisms that wouldn’t be subject to presidential influence. And since Republicans control the House, Senate and White House trifecta, the legislation faces long shot odds of advancement without the support of Trump allies on the Hill. Without bipartisan support, legislative efforts to reinstate or enhance ethics regulations may struggle to advance.

Still, Khanna insists that Democrats must reclaim anti-corruption as a signature issue.

“We need to be the party that gets money out of politics, gets the special influence out of politics, stands up against corruption,” he said. “We let Trump steal those themes of draining the swamp when it’s total hypocrisy.”