WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity today formally requested a Government Accountability Office investigation of Federal Vacancies Reform Act violations in the acting administrator position at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
Jeffrey Clark has been serving as acting administrator at the regulatory office since March 5 even though President Trump has not nominated him. As today’s letter to the GAO’s comptroller general notes, the vacancies act limits an official’s service in an “acting” capacity to 210 days. Once an acting official exceeds this limit, their actions may be found invalid.
“Jeffrey Clark shouldn’t be giving legal advice to anyone, let alone the entire federal government,” said Ivan Ditmars, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Clark is a disgraced Trump acolyte with no qualms about undermining democracy or the environment. We hope this independent agency holds Trump and Clark accountable for their latest attempt to skirt the law.”
The Center seeks an official legal opinion on the violation and requests action by the White House to cure this violation or remove Clark from his position.
As head of the Environment and Natural Resources Division at the Justice Department during the first Trump administration, Clark was indicted for attempting to overturn the 2020 election by pressuring the Justice Department to issue a false statement about nonexistent voter fraud. In July the Board on Professional Responsibility for the D.C. Bar recommended Clark be disbarred.
At OIRA, Clark oversees rulemaking processes across the federal government. In a recent memo, he encouraged agencies to shut the public out of the rulemaking process to rush through “deregulatory” actions with as little scrutiny as possible. He also provided political cover to the EPA’s push to unravel its landmark greenhouse gas endangerment finding — a move that would strip away core climate protections.
Trump has not formally nominated Clark, or anyone else, to serve as OIRA administrator in a permanent capacity. Last week Trump issued a presidential pardon to Clark and dozens of others for their roles in promoting slates of fake electors and casting doubt on the 2020 election.
“Trump knows that Clark is too politically toxic to be confirmed, even by a Senate dominated by Republicans willing to bend the knee on almost anything,” said Ditmars. “The American people deserve a civil servant who will uphold democracy and follow the law, not someone obsessed with placating Trump and eviscerating environmental safeguards.”
