National security adviser John Bolton said on Wednesday that ethics rules "discourage people from coming into government."

Bolton told the Hamilton Society that it is "harder to get things done" than it was when he served in the administration of George H.W. Bush in the 1990s, something he partially blamed on the "excessive nature of the so-called ethics checks," according to CNN

ADVERTISEMENT

"If you were designing a system to discourage people from coming into government, you would do it this way," Bolton said.

He also called it "really depressing to see," CNN reported.

Bolton's comments came one day after news broke that the Interior Department’s Office of Inspector General had referred an investigation into Interior chief Ryan Zinke to the to the Justice Department (DOJ).

CNN reported Tuesday that the DOJ is investigating whether Zinke used his position for personal gain.

Pruitt, meanwhile, resigned in June amid a number of ethics concerns, including his spending of taxpayer money on travel and his friendly relationships with lobbyists.