John,

I wanted to make sure you saw my recent op-ed in HuffPost.

In February, President Biden fired the architect of the Capitol, J. Brett Blanton, after CREW led the call for Blanton’s ousting following his repeated and flagrant abuses of power and misuse of taxpayer resources. This is the accountability and transparency that we deserve from our government.

But just like Trump during his one term in office, many of his appointees like Blanton were often embroiled in ethics scandals – several of whom remain in the very same positions.

• Joseph Cuffari is still the Department of Homeland Security inspector general, despite delayed reporting of missing Secret Service texts on or around the Jan. 6 attack and being under investigation for alleged retaliation against whistleblowers.


• Ginni Thomas, Trump’s appointee to the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board, sought to overturn the 2020 election and has been implicated in numerous misconduct allegations related to Justice Clarence Thomas’s refusal to recuse himself from cases where she had professional or financial interests.


• And Louis DeJoy, a Trump-era appointee, remains the Postmaster General of the United States, despite defying a court order to ensure mail-in ballots were found prior to the 2020 election.

CREW is hard at work to make sure that we hold politicians and leaders accountable.

We are glad that Blanton was fired for his misconduct, but Cuffari, Thomas, DeJoy, and others have continued to evade accountability.

Please read my op-ed below and consider making a donation to CREW to support our work to get corrupt leaders like Cuffari, Thomas, DeJoy out of office →

Thanks,

Donald Sherman
Senior VP and Chief Counsel
CREW


Opinion: Biden Fired The Architect Of The Capitol. But What About Other Trump Appointees?

Ginni Thomas, Trump’s appointee to the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board, repeatedly lobbied Trump aides to overturn the 2020 election — and yet she still remains in her appointed position.

By Donald Sherman, Guest Writer
Feb 24, 2023

Last week, President Joe Biden fired the architect of the Capitol (AOC), J. Brett Blanton, following bipartisan condemnation for his absence from the Capitol grounds during the Jan. 6 insurrection, and a report exposing his mismanagement of taxpayer funds and security lapses during the pandemic.

Appointed to a 10-year term by former President Donald Trump in 2019, Blanton’s unceremonious ouster cements his status as the shortest-tenured architect of the Capitol in the 230-year history of the position. The AOC is an important but little-known position that is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of buildings throughout the 450-acre land that makes up Capitol Hill. The AOC also serves on the Capitol Police Board.

It’s normally a large position with little fanfare, unless, of course, a corrupt president appoints someone equally unscrupulous to hold office. While every president is limited in ability and reach, having only four years in office until reelection, some of Donald Trump’s people have remained in positions of power long after his tenure has ended. Sadly, the AOC is not the only one.

In December 2019, Trump nominated Blanton to serve as Architect of the Capitol. He was quickly confirmed by the Republican-led Senate despite lacking a background in architecture like many of his predecessors.

Blanton’s noticeable corruption in office quickly drew public scrutiny after. In October 2021, an inspector general report revealed that Blanton misused thousands in government funds, impersonated law enforcement, and allowed his family personal use of government vehicles. In the fall of 2020, his wife gave Capitol tours to “patriots” while building access was restricted due to pandemic protocols. Following a disastrous hearing where Blanton blamed his daughter for his misconduct, he was accused of being untruthful, and admitted his absence on the Capitol grounds during the Jan. 6 attack.

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