Category: USA Politics

As construction nears completion on the long-delayed $850 million Obama Presidential Center, federal tax filings show the Obama Foundation paid CEO Valerie Jarrett $740,000 in 2024 while several former Obama White House officials collected six-figure salaries as foundation executives.

The Obama Foundation — which will operate the 19.3-acre center on publicly owned Chicago parkland — paid its CEO more than any other major presidential foundation. Salaries and benefits soared from $18.5 million in 2018 to $43.7 million in 2024, as staffing expanded to 337 employees and annual revenue reached nearly $210 million.

Jarrett, one of the Obamas’ closest advisors, took over as CEO in 2021 and is among six of the foundation’s 10 highest-paid executives who previously held senior roles in the Obama administration or campaign, according to a review of the foundation’s tax filings from 2018 to 2024.

“Illinois Democrats are truly living their best lives — making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to help design the ugliest building in Chicago,” Illinois GOP Chairman Kathy Salvi told Fox News. “Their jaw-dropping salaries prove that Illinois’ culture of corruption is alive and well as Barack Obama’s top allies rake in the cash.”

OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER DEPOSITS JUST $1M INTO $470M RESERVE FUND AIMED TO PROTECT TAXPAYERS

Jarrett’s compensation exceeds the most recently reported pay of leaders at several other presidential foundations. The George W. Bush Presidential Center reported CEO compensation of roughly $661,000 in 2024, while the Carter Center and the Reagan Foundation reported pay in the $500,000 range. The Clinton Foundation’s most recent filings show CEO compensation below $500,000.

Filings show that Jarrett’s pay accounted for less than 1% of the Obama Foundation’s total expenses in 2024. By comparison, CEO compensation at the George W. Bush Presidential Center represented a larger share of total expenses, while the Carter and Clinton foundations reported lower proportional pay.

Other top earners at the Obama Foundation included former administration insiders like David Simas, Obama’s former White House political director, who earned up to $626,000 annually while leading the Obama Foundation from 2017 through 2020. 

Adewale Adeyemo, a senior Obama administration official and later Biden’s deputy Treasury secretary, earned roughly $540,000 during his tenure as the foundation’s first president.

Two other former Obama aides — Anne Filipic, a former White House public engagement official, and Christina Tchen, former chief of staff to Michelle Obama — each earned roughly $400,000 annually in senior foundation roles, while Michael Strautmanis, another former campaign and White House aide, has earned more than $300,000 per year.

BUREAUCRATS HIDE TRUE PRICE OF OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER AS TAXPAYERS HIT WITH INFRASTRUCTURE BILL

The compensation figures take on added relevance as the foundation prepares to open and operate the presidential center under a $10, 99-year-use agreement on publicly owned Chicago parkland, in what the foundation is calling its “permanent home.”

The campus will include a museum, an athletic center and a public library branch. It will not function as a traditional presidential library overseen by the National Archives Records Administration, marking a departure from the federally operated model used by modern presidential libraries. The Obama Foundation, whose programming is tied directly to the former president’s legacy, also runs leadership and community programs in the U.S. and abroad.

Nonprofit governance experts say executive compensation should be evaluated against comparable organizations, though political ties among top leadership can heighten scrutiny.

“Any time you are dealing with a nonprofit that is politically connected in some way, there is always a heightened risk of nepotism creeping in,” said Laurie Styron, CEO of CharityWatch, an independent charity watchdog group. “If multiple highly paid executives have ties to the former president’s administration, the public deserves significant transparency about how those hiring and compensation decisions were made.”

Styron added that high salaries are not inherently problematic and should be assessed based on market comparables and organizational complexity.

Foundation defends pay, cites large nonprofits

The Obama Foundation said executive compensation reflects market rates for large national nonprofits and is reviewed annually by its board, which uses external comparability data and compensation consultants.

“Executive salaries are based on competitive market rates for roles of the same level in similar institutions nationwide,” the foundation said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Overall, salaries throughout the foundation, across all levels, are discounted relative to those in the private sector.”

The foundation pointed to compensation levels at major philanthropic institutions, where leaders at the Rockefeller and Mellon foundations earned more than $1.4 million in 2023, and the Ford and MacArthur foundations each reported CEO compensation of roughly $1.29 million, according to public filings.

Those organizations operate with multibillion-dollar endowments, money that earns enough interest each year to cover operating costs. The Ford Foundation reports assets of roughly $16 billion, while the Mellon and MacArthur foundations each report assets exceeding $8 billion.

The Obama Foundation reported more than $1.1 billion in total assets at the end of 2024, though much of that reflects construction-related assets and restricted funds tied to the presidential center rather than a traditional invested endowment.

The Obama Foundation pledged to establish a $470 million endowment, though public filings show approximately $1 million deposited to date, according to a Fox News Digital investigation.

Under Jarrett’s leadership, the foundation reported roughly $210 million in total revenue in 2024, the vast majority — about $195 million — from contributions and grants. It reported approximately $311 million in 2023 and about $309 million in 2022, reflecting a fundraising surge tied largely to the construction of the presidential center.

Executive pay expanded after the foundation locked in the 99-year agreement with the city to operate the campus in Chicago’s historic Jackson Park and raised hundreds of millions of dollars.

The center is scheduled to open in June and will add 150 full-time jobs to the foundation, which the Obama Foundation says will bring economic investment and opportunity to the surrounding South Side community.

In a video released this week promoting the Center’s upcoming opening, Obama described the campus as a symbol of optimism and forward-looking change.

“This is not a monument to the past,” Obama said. “It’s a living destination for people who refuse to accept the status quo. If you feel that way, this is your invitation to join us.” 

Secret Service agents investigating a suspicious vehicle near the White House on Wednesday have detained the driver for questioning, the U.S. Secret Service said.

Various entrances and streets in northwest D.C. were temporarily closed as investigators worked.

This is a developing story; check back for updates.

Republicans sharply criticized former President Joe Biden over rising prices at the gas pump, but a spike in energy prices amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict in Iran threatens to scramble the party’s affordability messaging.

The Iran conflict has led to a surge in gas prices for Americans, leading to an average 50 cents a gallon increase since Operation Epic Fury began on Feb. 28.

The average price of gas reached $3.54 per gallon on Tuesday, according to AAA. Diesel prices have also risen to $4.72 per gallon. The increases have been mostly fueled by volatility in oil prices, which rose above $100 per barrel on Monday as the Strait of Hormuz remained effectively shuttered.

The president characterized the gas price hike amid the Iran conflict as “a very small price to pay” in a Truth Social post Sunday.

THE WAR HITS HOME: WHY FINANCIAL PAIN AND ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY THREATEN TRUMP’S DRIVE TO TOPPLE IRAN’S REGIME

That statement represented a sharp break with Trump’s typical messaging touting low gas prices prior to Operation Epic Fury.

“Gasoline, which reached a peak of over $6 a gallon in some states under my predecessor — it was quite honestly a disaster — is now below $2.30 a gallon in most states. And in some places, $1.99 a gallon,” President Donald Trump said during his Feb. 27 State of the Union address. “And when I visited the great state of Iowa just a few weeks ago, I even saw $1.85 a gallon for gasoline.”

The surge in gas and diesel prices threatens to undermine the economic message of President Trump and congressional Republicans, who have touted low gas prices as a major win in the lead-up to November’s midterm elections. Cost of living issues are expected to be a key concern among voters as both parties claim to be laser-focused on making everyday life more affordable.

During the 2024 presidential contest, Trump frequently campaigned on ending Biden’s “war on American energy” and pledged to reverse a surge in gas prices that occurred under his predecessor’s tenure.

Gas prices averaged $3.45 per gallon across all fuel grades during Biden’s four-year term, surging to a record high of more than $5 per gallon in June 2022 after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

“Starting on Day 1, we will drive down prices and make America affordable again,” Trump said during a speech at the Republican National Committee convention in July 2024. “People can’t live like this.”

Democrats have seized on rising prices at the pump amid the conflict in Iran.

“I wish the administration thought about this before they started this unnecessary war,” Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, who caucuses with Democrats, said Monday when asked about the gas price hike.

“Donald Trump’s war has sent gas prices skyrocketing through the roof,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote on social media Monday. “What contempt. What cluelessness.”

Schumer has called on the president to release oil from America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve to combat supply bottlenecks in the Middle East. The top Democrat notably opposed a Trump-led effort to replenish the stockpile in his first term when oil prices were much lower.

TANKERS TO RESUME NORMAL MOVEMENT IN MIDDLE EAST IN ‘A FEW WEEKS’ AT WORST, ENERGY SEC SAYS, ENDING OIL SURGE

Republicans have voiced confidence that the rise in gas prices would be temporary. GOP lawmakers have frequently cited their efforts to roll back Biden-era energy regulations and boost domestic production as evidence that their policies are working to lower energy prices.

“It’s going to be probably volatile for a period of time. I think what’s going to be key is ensuring we can get safe access to the Strait of Hormuz,” Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., said Monday, adding that he was confident the disruption would be short-lived.

Daines, who abruptly suspended his re-election campaign last week, highlighted that average gas prices were under $3 per gallon prior to Trump’s State of the Union speech. 

“That’s an important win for the American people,” the retiring Montana lawmaker said. “Something you’re reminded of usually weekly when you’re gassing up your vehicle.”

Some Republicans and Trump administration officials are also arguing that a defeated Iran will ultimately spur lower gas prices, even if there is pain in the short run.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt characterized the recent increase in oil and gas prices as “temporary” during a briefing Tuesday.

“Once the national security objectives of Operation Epic Fury are fully achieved, Americans will see oil and gas prices drop rapidly, potentially even lower than they were prior to the start of the operation,” Leavitt said.

“At the end of the day, we’re going to destroy this regime, and their ability to disrupt oil is going to be less, and we’re going to have more production, not less,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told reporters Monday. “Once you take the largest state sponsor of terrorism off the planet, who depends on oil for their revenue, that’s a more stable world.”

Nearly seven in 10 Americans — including 44% of Republicans — expect gas prices to keep increasing in the coming months, according to a Reuters-Ipsos poll released Monday.

Trump has threatened Iran with unprecedented force if the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz is further restricted.

“Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them — But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen!” Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social.

FIRST ON FOX: A top Senate Republican wants answers on why the Biden administration drained the nation’s oil stockpile but did little to replenish it.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., charged that decisions under President Joe Biden to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) could have a ripple effect as the U.S. continues its war with Iran and as the Iranian government continues its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz.

Cotton, in a letter first obtained by Fox News Digital to Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright, charged that the Biden administration released 180 million barrels from the nation’s reserves in 2022 “to suppress gas prices ahead of the midterm elections.”

US SIGNALS READINESS TO ESCORT TANKERS THROUGH HORMUZ AS TRAFFIC THINS BUT NO MISSION LAUNCHED

“That decision drained the reserve to a 40-year low,” Cotton wrote. “The decision to drain the SPR was not a response to a supply emergency; it was a deliberate political act designed to protect Democrats from the consequences of their own failed energy policies.”

Biden tapped the reserve twice — once in 2021 to relieve soaring fuel prices as the nation still grappled with the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and again the following year to combat increased energy costs at the onset of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

The SPR has capacity for over 700 million barrels of crude oil, but currently, the reserve has far less following the drawdown under the previous administration.

SCHUMER ONCE BLOCKED TRUMP’S MOVE TO FILL THE NATION’S OIL RESERVES, NOW HE WANTS THEM OPENED

At the end of Biden’s term, the reserve had about 415 million barrels of crude on hand, according to data from the Department of Energy.

Cotton said that it wasn’t “the first time Democrats undermined the reserve” and noted that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and congressional Democrats blocked President Donald Trump’s bid to refill the SPR in 2020, when barrels were cheap, with $3 billion from a colossal COVID-19 stimulus package moving through Congress.

He also said that in 2021, Biden signed an executive order that halted new oil and gas leases on federal lands and offshore, which Cotton charged “constrained domestic production while the administration was draining the reserve.”

TANKERS TO RESUME NORMAL MOVEMENT IN MIDDLE EAST IN ‘A FEW WEEKS’ AT WORST, ENERGY SEC SAYS, ENDING OIL SURGE

Cotton demanded that Wright answer how blocking the $3 billion oil purchase and halting oil and gas leases impacted the nation’s overall domestic supplies that could have been used to replenish the SPR.

Meanwhile, congressional Democrats are demanding that Trump tap into the SPR after oil prices spiked to four-year highs over the weekend as the war in Iran intensifies.

Schumer said that the reserve “exists for moments exactly like this.”

“The Strait of Hormuz is the world’s most important oil transit choke point, with roughly 20% of global petroleum liquids consumption moving through it in recent years,” Cotton said. “That is precisely why the SPR must be treated as a strategic national security asset, not a political tool.”

In a scathing rebuke of President Donald Trump’s endorsement track record, former Rep. Bob Good suggested that the president’s picks would be better used to know which candidates not to support in election contests.

“Truth…face it…Trump IS the problem…not his advisors (that he picks because they say nice things about him on TV)…Trump himself…you would literally do better by using Trump’s endorsement to know who NOT to vote for,” the former lawmaker wrote on X Tuesday.

Good has personal experience running against a Trump-backed opponent.

In 2024, while serving as House Freedom Caucus chair, Good lost a GOP congressional primary in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District to Trump-endorsed challenger John McGuire, who went on to win the general election and succeed Good in the House seat.

TRUMP TEASES KINGMAKER ENDORSEMENT IN TEXAS ‘SOON’ TO FORCE OTHER CANDIDATE OUT OF RUNOFF

Trump had repeatedly trashed Good on Truth Social, asserting, “Bob Good is BAD FOR VIRGINIA, AND BAD FOR THE USA.”

Last week Good declared in a post on X, “Trump LIKES RINOS…based on his endorsement history.”

In a post last month, Good asserted that “Trump has never made an endorsement based on the principles, character, policy positions, or qualifications of a candidate or elected official.”

FORMER FREEDOM CAUCUS CHAIR BOB GOOD CALLS OUT ‘THE BIG GLARING WEAKNESS FOR ALL OF REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT’

Fox News Digital reached out to the Republican National Committee for comment on Wednesday morning.

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene — a longtime Trump ally who had a falling out with the president last year and departed Congress early this year in the middle of her term — has also been a vociferous critic of Trump’s endorsement track record.

EX-TRUMP ALLY MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE RIPS THE PRESIDENT’S ENDORSEMENTS, SAYING THEY ‘SOLIDIFY THE SWAMP’

“Trump’s endorsements do not drain the swamp, his endorsements solidify the swamp and ensure the swamp is never drained,” she wrote in a January post on X.

Rep. Christian Menefee, D-Texas, pledged to continue efforts to impeach President Donald Trump, spearheaded by Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, even as he wages a campaign to take his seat.

However, Menefee promised that his impeachment attempts would stand more of a chance of winning over party support.

“I’m the candidate in this race who has a track record of standing up for my community, of fighting back and doing so effectively in a way that gets things done,” Menefee said in an interview with Fox News Digital.

Menefee, who won a special election in January to fill the seat of the late Rep. Sylvester Turner, is taking on Green in a heated primary contest. Turner died while in office in March 2025.

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The two Democrats were put on a collision course last year when Republicans advanced redistricting plans in Texas set to eliminate as many as five Democrat-held seats. Green announced that he would pursue reelection in the 18th District — the seat Menefee took in January.

Although Menefee declined to specifically address his thoughts on Green and his impeachment attempts, he said his own efforts would center on winning over enough support to have them clear the House of Representatives.

“My approach is going to be, when I file articles of impeachment, my goal is for them to either pass or to get very close to passing,” Menefee said.

“That means collaborating with the other members of the Democratic caucus to make sure that it’s going to be effective. My approach is generally, if I start something, I am doing it because I want to ultimately take it across the finish line in a way that’s going to actually help people.”

HOUSE GOP MOVES TO CENSURE DEM WHO DISRUPTED TRUMP ADDRESS FOR 2ND STRAIGHT YEAR

None of Green’s impeachment efforts have cleared the chamber. 

His most recent attempt in December attracted the support of 140 Democrats. Notably, 23 voted with Republicans to kill the measure and 47 voted present. 

Menefee’s promises to continue pushing for Trump’s impeachment continue Green’s legacy even as the Democratic newcomer has stressed unity and pragmatism over the political purity tests Green has offered in the past.

Green, a 20-year veteran in Congress, has made opposition to Trump his defining characteristic in recent years. He made headlines in 2026 for being ejected from Trump’s State of the Union Address for bringing a sign with the phrase “Black people aren’t apes.”

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Green was also removed from the 2025 State of the Union after he refused to take his seat while waving his cane at the president.

In his most recent attempt, Green framed his impeachments as a sort of litmus test for his own party — to see where they stood on whether Trump had committed high crimes or misdemeanors.

“We have to participate. This is a participatory democracy. The impeachment requires the hands and the guidance of all of us,” Green said in November 2025 as he announced his December attempt. 

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Outside groups also praised Green for being willing to put the question to Democrats in Congress. Dave Mytych, outreach lead at For Liberation and Resistance Everywhere (FLARE), praised Green’s latest efforts.

“This is what the American people want. They want fighters that hold the line. Democrats, are you listening? Leader Schumer, are you listening? Leader Jeffries, are you listening?” Mytych said, calling out several high-ranking Democrats.

When asked about those messaging votes, Menefee said his focus would be different.

“If I’m spending time on it, it’s because I’m trying to get something done. My goal in filing impeachment articles is going to be to impeach the President of the United States, no other goal,” Menefee said.

With neither candidate having captured a majority of the vote in the initial Texas primary elections earlier this month, Green and Menefee will face off in a runoff election on May 26.

The race for Mississippi’s Senate seat is set for November and will feature a clash of a sitting incumbent battling a foe she once blocked from a lifetime judicial appointment.

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., cruised to a victory in her primary to earn the GOP nomination for Senate in Mississippi. She beat Sarah Adlakha, a political newcomer who challenged Hyde-Smith’s effectiveness in Washington, D.C., since being appointed to the position in 2018.

Hyde-Smith is running for a second term in the upper chamber and, in deep-red Mississippi, is expected to hold onto her job in the GOP’s sprawling battle to maintain control of the Senate.

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But she’ll face a Democratic opponent she’s dealt with before — just not on the election battlefield.

Mississippi District Attorney Scott Colom came out on top of his crowded primary to earn the Democratic nomination for Senate in the Magnolia State. He toppled U.S. Marine Corps veteran Albert Littell and Priscilla Till, the cousin of Emmett Till, who was abducted and lynched in Mississippi in the 1950s.

Hyde-Smith and Colom have a history dating back to the Biden administration, when the lawmaker blocked his nomination to serve as a district court judge in Mississippi.

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At the time, she used the veto power each home-state senator has, known as a blue slip in the upper chamber, to weigh in on a judicial nominee — it’s a tradition that President Donald Trump has demanded be done away with to nullify Democratic resistance to his own judicial nominees.

Hyde-Smith told the Magnolia Tribune at the time that while she recognized that Colom was “smart and well-liked in his district,” she had concerns over his record.

Nathan Calvert, spokesperson for the Hyde-Smith campaign, told Fox News Digital in a statement that “Colom has never seen a Biden/Harris policy he didn’t like.”

“Senator Hyde-Smith is proud of opposing judicial nominations for extreme leftists who support a radical transgender agenda,” Calvert said. “She opposes allowing men to participate in women’s sports and believes we need judges who will take the same stance.”

“Senator Hyde-Smith believes we need to cut government spending, fight inflation (driven by excessive government spending), and reduce (not increase) our soaring national debt, and she’ll continue voting to do that,” he continued. 

CONTENTIOUS REPUBLICAN SENATE PRIMARY IN TEXAS HEADED INTO OVERTIME

“As someone with a strong interest in protecting the rights of girls and women, I am concerned about Scott Colom’s opposition to legislation to protect female athletes,” Hyde-Smith said. “The significant support his campaign received from George Soros also weighs heavily against his nomination, in my view. I simply cannot support his nomination to serve on the federal bench in Mississippi for a lifetime.”

Meanwhile, Colom has gone after Hyde-Smith for voting against federal funding coming into Mississippi, which has consistently ranked as the poorest state in the country.

His website accused Hyde-Smith of not “working for us anymore, voting against Mississippi jobs and investments because it serves her donors’ agenda.”

Fox News Digital reached out for comment to Colom’s campaign, but did not immediately hear back. 

EXCLUSIVE: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas will remain open and is undergoing an operational upgrade, Fox News Digital has learned.

“Camp East Montana is NOT closing, quite the opposite,” an ICE spokesperson exclusively told Fox News Digital Tuesday.

“Rather, ICE has contracted with a new provider following Secretary Noem’s termination of the old contract inherited from the Department of War. ICE is always looking at ways to improve our detention facilities to ensure we are providing the best care to illegal aliens in our custody.”

BLUE-STATE GOVERNORS MOVE TO KEEP HEAT ON NOEM AS DHS FIRES BACK

The spokesperson said the new contract will allow the facility to maintain what the agency described as the “highest detention standards” while expanding oversight.

According to ICE, the new contractor will also provide increased on-site medical care, additional staffing and a “PRECISE quality assurance surveillance plan.”

The agency said the updated agreement also strengthens ICE’s direct oversight of operations at the El Paso-area facility.

“Far from closing, Camp East Montana is upgrading,” the spokesperson said.

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The news that the facility will remain open comes after The Washington Post reported that the facility could face closure amid scrutiny over operations.

A document was distributed to ICE staff, the Post reports, indicated that the agency was drafting a letter to terminate the facility’s $1.2 billion contract at an unspecified date.

ICE officials, however, characterized the contract termination as a deliberate effort by Noem to raise standards and improve services.

The facility, located at Fort Bliss in Texas, has been used to house thousands of detainees as part of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.

ICE did not immediately provide details on the identity of the new contractor or the timeline for full implementation.

The special election to fill former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s vacant House seat in Georgia’s solidly red 14th Congressional District is headed to a runoff next month.

The seat in northwestern Georgia was left vacant when Greene stepped down at the beginning of January. Green quit Congress with a year left in her term after a public falling out with President Donald Trump over the Epstein files.  

Tuesday’s special election ended in a runoff between Trump-endorsed Republican District Attorney Clay Fuller and retired Army veteran Shawn Harris. 

The GOP clings to a razor-thin 218–214 majority in the House. As a result, Republicans cannot afford any surprises and allow the Democrats to pull an upset in a district Trump carried by a whopping 37 points during his 2024 presidential election victory.

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All 17 candidates in Tuesday’s special election in Georgia, regardless of party affiliation, were on the same ballot. Twelve were Republican, three were Democrats.

Since no contender topped 50% of the vote in the primary, the top two candidates are advancing to an April 7 runoff.

Harris, a retired Army brigadier general, got 39.9% of the vote, while Fuller, a district attorney for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit, got 34.2%.

HOUSE GOP FEARS PRIMARY LOSERS COULD JEOPARDIZE RAZOR-THIN MAJORITY

With $4.3 million raised, Harris was the fundraising champion among all 17 candidates, but Fuller has a Trump endorsement in a district the president won handily. 

Fuller teamed up with the president recently during a stop in the district at an event in Rome, Georgia, during which he described himself as a “MAGA warrior.” In addition to his Trump backing, Fuller is backed by the politically potent and deep-pocketed fiscally conservative group the Club for Growth. 

Former Congresswoman Greene, once a top Trump ally in the House, became a vocal critic of his and stayed neutral in the race to succeed her.

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Third place Tuesday evening went to former state Sen. Colton Moore, a vocal Trump backer who enjoyed support from the far right. Moore garnered 10.9% of the vote.

A senior Trump administration official and former acting U.S. attorney for D.C. is under disciplinary review for his role in President Donald Trump’s anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative — sparking outrage from the Justice Department, which assailed alleged ethics violations against Ed Martin as a “partisan” effort, and one that unfairly targets Trump and his allies. 

The disciplinary charge, filed Friday to the D.C. Court of Appeals Board on Professional Responsibility and published Tuesday, centers on a letter sent by Martin to Georgetown Law last February while Martin was serving as interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. 

Martin allegedly demanded in the letter that Georgetown Law provide information about its DEI practices and teachings, according to the ethics complaint. It states that without “further explanation,” and without receiving a response from Georgetown Law, Martin then announced he would be imposing sanctions on the school — instructing his staff not to hire any students, fellows, or interns affiliated with the university.

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The Justice Department blasted news of the ethics complaint, telling Fox News Digital on Tuesday that the complaint represented yet another “clear indication” of unfair and “partisan” treatment from the D.C. Bar, a body they argued has continued “to target and punish those serving President Trump while refusing to investigate or act against actual ethical violations that were committed by Biden and Obama administration attorneys,” representing what DOJ spokesperson described as “a clear indication of this partisan organization’s agenda.”

The complaint was signed by the disciplinary counsel for the D.C. Bar, Hamilton Fox, whose role allows him to function similarly to a prosecutor for attorney misconduct cases.  Fox previously donated thousands to Obama’s first presidential campaign in 2008, according to FEC records reviewed by Fox News Digital. 

The complaint accuses Martin of violating the First and Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by using his role as a government official to demand that the university change its teachings; failing to give the university a time frame to respond; and threatening adverse action against Georgetown Law for teaching a particular viewpoint.

It also accuses Martin of conducting unauthorized, ex parte communications with the chief judge and senior judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit after he was asked to respond to a complaint about his remarks to Georgetown Law. “In that letter, he stated that he would not be responding to Disciplinary Counsel’s inquiry, complained about Disciplinary Counsel’s ‘uneven behavior,’ and requested a ‘face-to-face meeting with all of you to discuss this matter and find a way forward,’” the complaint said, noting that Martin had copied White House counsel onto the email. 

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The Justice Department’s second-highest-ranking official, Todd Blanche, sharply criticized the complaint on social media Tuesday, noting: “The DC Bar is such a blatantly Democrat-run political organization.”

“Thank God I’m not a member, and trust me, I never will be,” Blanche said in a post on X.Martin, a former defense attorney who helped represent individuals charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, has made headlines during his short time at DOJ. His path to confirmation to serve as U.S. Attorney for D.C. stalled last year amid concerns from some Senate Republicans, prompting Trump to install Martin last May as the Justice Department’s pardon attorney. 

EX-JUDGES BLAST TOP TRUMP DOJ OFFICIAL FOR DECLARING ‘WAR’ ON COURTS

Trump also tapped Martin at the time to head up the Justice Department’s so-called “Weaponization Working Group,” or the newly formed internal body within DOJ tasked with probing federal prosecutions viewed by the administration as unfairly partisan. 

Martin was removed last month from his role heading up the working group, though no reason for his removal was immediately provided. 

The complaint will now be kicked to D.C. Court of Appeals for next steps and review — a notoriously lengthy process that will likely take months, if not longer.

News of the ethics complaint comes just days after the Justice Department filed a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register that would allow the department to suspend state bar investigations while the DOJ conducts its own review.