The White House Office of American Innovation, established in March 2017 to bring private sector innovation into government operations, has claimed many successes over the past year, including IT modernization efforts, hurricane aid to Puerto Rico and education initiatives.
But an April 25, 2018, letter from Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Gary Peters, D-Mich., to White House Chief of Staff John Kelly questioned the real impact of such successes, noting that the office’s lack of transparency and reports of financial assets owned by its members call into question the true efficacy of its mission.
“The goal of OAI is admirable, but these recent reports suggest that rather than encouraging efficiency in government, the office is potentially a vehicle for cronyism and waste,” the senators wrote.
The letter notes that multiple people in the White House still do not understand the purpose of the OAI, adding that though the office said they had been involved in hurricane recovery efforts in Puerto Rico, there was no information made available about what kind of involvement they had, and U.S. officials on the island were unaware of their participation.
“Moreover, financial disclosure forms filed by Reed Cordish, former real estate developer who helped run OAI until earlier this year, indicate that he holds defaulted Puerto Rican debt,” the senators wrote.
Cordish is also among a large group of original OAI members that have since left the office or the Trump administration entirely, including former Director of the National Economic Council Gary Cohn, Senior Counselor to the President for Economic Initiatives Dina Powell and Senior Communications Aide Josh Raffel.
The letter also raises concerns about private meetings OAI members had with business leaders and the office’s failure to respond to repeated requests for information.
The senators requested that Kelly provide a list of information on the OAI’s operations, including:
- Details of both internal and external meetings held with OAI staff;
- A list of current and former OAI members;
- How former OAI officials are complying with ethics commitments;
- The budget of and funds expended for the OAI;
- Actions taken in Puerto Rico and members’ financial interests in the island;
- The confidential or classified information reviewed by OAI members and what their security clearances were; and
- White House guidance to OAI members on responding to information requests.
“As we have now passed the one-year anniversary of OAI, it is imperative that the public can be sure that the office is making progress towards its aims while maintaining transparency and acting according to the highest ethical standards,” the senators wrote.
