President Donald Trump’s administration says the government ethics office lacks the authority to force the President to reveal how many waivers he’s granted to ex-lobbyists in his new administration.

Mr. Trump’s budget director Mick Mulvaney is asking that Office of Government Ethics director Walter Shaub halt his inquiry into lobbyists-turned-Trump administration employees. Mr. Mulvaney wrote in a letter last week to Mr. Shaub that “this data call appears to raise legal questions regarding the scope of OGE’s authorities.”

Mr. Shaub fired back on Monday that OGE’s request is well within bounds. The ethics director says he expects to see the waiver information within 10 days.

The back-and-forth follows a request Mr. Shaub made in April that agency heads share with his office waivers that the Trump administration has issued to its ethics policies concerning lobbyists.