Carper Pushes for Transparency at the White House

WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del), a senior member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and cosponsor of the MAR-A-LAGO Act, released a statement in reaction to the Trump administration’s decision to break with precedent set by the Obama administration to release White House visitor logs.

“The Trump administration’s decision to keep White House visitor logs hidden from the public is a stunning and nonsensical reversal of precedent set by the Obama administration to increase transparency of the executive branch,” Senator Carper said. “The business of the President of the United States is the business of the people of the United States. Americans have a right to know who has influence and access to the White House. I urge the White House to reverse this decision, which will only create more unanswered questions about its inner workings and darken the shroud of controversies that vex this administration.”

In March, Sen. Carper cosponsored the MAR-A-LAGO Act, which requires the publication of visitor logs to ensure that the American people have information about who has access to and may be influencing the Trump administration. In addition, due to President Trump’s frequent use of his private business properties for official business, the MAR-A-LAGO Act mandates the disclosure of visitor lists at locations like the Trump Organization’s Mar-A-Lago Club, Trump Tower in New York City, and the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.