US Federal House Bill HB2857

US Federal 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 4/10/25
• Refer: 4/10/25

Caption

Drain the Swamp Act

Summary

HB2857, titled the "Drain the Swamp Act," would make Executive Order 13989 legally binding by codifying it into federal law. The bill is very short and does not create a new ethics framework from scratch; instead, it incorporates the existing executive order on ethics commitments by executive branch personnel and gives it the force and effect of law. Executive Order 13989 generally requires certain ethics commitments from executive branch appointees, including restrictions intended to reduce conflicts of interest, revolving-door concerns, and other forms of undue influence in government service. By codifying the order, the bill would transform those executive-branch ethics standards from a presidential directive into a statutory requirement that would remain in place unless changed by Congress.

Impact

If enacted, the bill would affect federal ethics rules for executive branch personnel by making the requirements of Executive Order 13989 enforceable as law rather than as an executive action subject to revision by a future president. It would primarily impact presidential appointees and other executive branch personnel covered by the order, and it would likely be administered through existing ethics and personnel processes within the executive branch. The bill does not appear to amend a broader set of statutes directly, but it would elevate the order’s ethics commitments into the U.S. Code or equivalent statutory authority.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and available context, the bill appears to be framed positively as an anti-corruption or government-ethics measure. The title and sponsors suggest support for stronger ethics commitments in the executive branch, and there is no recorded committee debate or vote history in the provided materials indicating organized opposition or amendment activity. The absence of transcripts or votes suggests the bill was at an early stage and had not yet generated a broader public legislative record.

Contention

The main point of potential contention is the policy choice to convert an executive order into permanent statutory law. Supporters are likely to view this as a way to strengthen ethics rules and prevent future administrations from weakening them unilaterally, while critics could argue that Congress is locking in a presidential policy choice that may be better left to executive discretion or that the underlying ethics restrictions could be overly broad or burdensome. No specific objections from committee discussion are available in the provided record.