Ethics office clears federal official for his Project 2025 involvement

The federal government’s ethics czar said a top official at the Federal Communications Commission did not violate any ethics laws or agreements when he helped write a chapter of Project 2025, the controversial document spearheaded by former Trump administration officials to outline agenda items for the Republican presidential nominee. 

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, one of the Republicans to sit atop the agency, is listed as the author of the document’s section on the agency. In July, more than a dozen House Democrats led by Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., requested a probe into whether Carr violated ethics laws, noting the ties between Project 2025 and Trump and its stated goal of shaping policy decisions by presidential candidates. 

The Office of Government Ethics, however, said in a letter on Thursday that in coordination with FCC officials it discovered “insufficient evidence that Commissioner Carr’s actions violated the misuse of position rules” that govern executive branch employees. FCC has agreed, however, to implement changes in how its employees’ titles are displayed in connection with outside activities “to avoid any potential confusion.” 

OGE noted that taking disciplinary action against any federal employee was not in its jurisdiction and such responsibility falls on that employee’s agency. 

Project 2025, created and funded by the Heritage Foundation, has played an outsized role in the presidential election, with Vice President Kamala Harris frequently seeking to tie Trump to it and its most contentious proposals. Trump has repeatedly sought to distance himself from the document despite his connection to its leaders and his promotion of many of the same ideas as part of his “Agenda 47.” 

“Given the close ties between Project 2025, Trump, and his re-election campaign, it is deeply troubling that Commissioner Carr would use his official title and position to author part of the political playbook for a Republican presidential candidate,” the Democratic lawmakers wrote over the summer. “This potential misuse of title raises serious questions about Commissioner Carr’s commitment to keeping his private political activities separate from his official duties.” 

They asked OGE, the Office of Special Counsel—which enforces the Hatch Act—and the FCC inspector general to investigate for potential wrongdoing. OSC last month also cleared Carr, saying Project 2025 “is not a partisan political group as defined by regulations” and his participation in it did not constitute political activity as spelled out in the Hatch Act. 

Carr, who was nominated for a Republican slot on the commission by both Trump and President Biden, is a frequent critic of the Biden administration. He has said he asked FCC's ethics office for guidance before he became involved with Project 2025 and it cleared his participation.