House Democrats will skip questions on Ross’s ethics violations at public hearing

By Rachael Bade
March 12 at 7:23 PM

Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee will allow Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to answer questions in writing about his inaccurate financial report rather than face public questioning on the matter at an upcoming hearing.

Democrats agreed to the billionaire’s request about his 2018 financial disclosure form that a U.S. government watchdog said violated his ethics agreement, according to correspondence between the two parties obtained by The Washington Post.

The Office of Government Ethics ruled in mid-February that Ross had inaccurately reported stock holdings on his 2018 financial disclosure form, claiming he had sold them when he had not.

Democrats on the panel asked Ross, one of Trump’s wealthiest Cabinet officials, for more information about those inaccuracies in a February letter. But Ross responded that he was not ready to answer questions on the matter. Democrats may try anyway, but they’ll allow him to submit responses for the record.

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