The White House is telling federal agencies to ignore Democratic lawmakers’ oversight requests amid fears by Republicans that the information could be used against President Trump, according to a report on Friday.
“You have the Republicans leading the House, the Senate and the White House,” a White House official said, Politico reported. “I don’t think you’d have the Democrats responding to every minority member request if they were in the same position.”
White House lawyer Uttam Dhillon has told the agencies not to cooperate with such requests from Democrats, according to GOP sources inside and outside the beleaguered administration, Politico reported.
A White House spokeswoman said the administration’s policy is “to accommodate the requests of chairmen, regardless of their political party.”
The administration also responds to “all non-oversight inquiries, including the Senate’s inquiries for purposes of providing advice and consent on nominees, without regard to the political party of the requester,” she said.
“Multiple agencies have, in fact, responded to minority member requests. No agencies have been directed not to respond to minority requests.”
A senior Democratic aide told Politico that of the Senate Democrats’ 225 oversight letters sent to the White House since January asking for information, the vast majority have gotten no response.
“When it comes to almost anything we’ve done at a federal agency, very close to 100 percent of those we haven’t heard anything back,” another senior Democratic aide said.
“And at the White House it’s definitely 100 percent. This is rampant all over committee land,” the aide said.