Secrecy and Suspicion Surround Trump’s Deregulation Teams<br />Four top Democratic members of Congress wrote a letter to the White House on Monday asking<br />the Trump administration to release the names of all deregulation team members.<br />The appointments, previously unreported, follow a pattern identified by the two news organizations: By<br />and large, the Trump administration has stacked the teams with political appointees, some of whom may be reviewing rules their former employers sought to weaken or kill.<br />Since the publication of that investigation last month, the news organizations have identified more than a dozen other appointees through interviews, public records<br />and reader tips — including the three appointees to the deregulation team at the Transportation Department.<br />The congressmen cited a recent investigation by The Times and ProPublica revealing<br />that members of the deregulation teams have included lawyers who represented businesses in cases against government regulators, staff members of political dark money groups and employees of industry-funded organizations opposed to environmental rules.<br />An examination of the Trump administration’s deregulation teams has revealed a string of possible conflicts,<br />including some appointees who may be reviewing rules their previous employers tried to weaken or kill.<br />He also held executive positions with the Aerospace Industries Association, a trade group representing aerospace<br />and defense companies, and Airlines for America, a trade association for major airlines.<br />One Transportation appointee, Daniel Elwell, was previously a top lobbyist for<br />American Airlines who sought to influence the Transportation Department.
