Rep. Elijah Cummings sent a letter Thursday to the Oversight panel’s chairman urging him to schedule a hearing with Walter Shaub. | Getty Cummings calls for hearing with departing ethics chief who tangled with Trump

The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee wants Walter Shaub, who announced his resignation Thursday as director of the Office of Government Ethics after tangling with the Trump administration over conflicts of interest, to testify before Congress.

Rep. Elijah Cummings sent a letter Thursday to the Oversight panel’s chairman, Rep. Trey Gowdy, urging him to schedule a hearing with Shaub "about the need for stronger ethics regulations.”


Gowdy’s office declined to comment on whether he would invite Shaub to testify. The South Carolina Republican last month told reporters he planned to take a narrow view of his chairmanship, steering clear of hot-button issues — such as any ties between Russia and the 2016 campaign of President Donald Trump — and instead focusing on things like government procurement and the Census.

Shaub, whose resignation is effective July 19, has been a vocal critic of the way Trump has handled conflicts of interests with his many businesses, calling Trump's decision not to divest his assets "wholly inadequate." Shaub said Thursday he was leaving to take a new position with the non-profit Campaign Legal Center.

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In his letter, Cummings said a hearing with Shaub would "fall squarely within our committee's mission."

"The American people deserve to hear from this experienced ethics expert about the challenges he faced in his position and the reforms he believes would strengthen our program of government ethics," the Maryland Democrat wrote.

Kyle Cheney contributed to this report.