Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has taken her attacks against President-Elect Donald Trump to a new level by demanding that the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigate what she dubbed a “chaotic” transition process.
Warren, joined by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), also used her Facebook page to accuse Trump of ripping off taxpayers and profiting from the experience.
“The President of the United States should work for you–and not exploit the most powerful office in the world and your tax dollars to make a quick buck,” Warren wrote on Facebook. “Trump’s transition–including staff, office space, travel, and Secret Service protection–are all bankrolled by your tax dollars. Reports of ‘disarray’ within Mr. Trump’s transition–and of serious conflicts of interest and blatant disregard for national security protocols–raise questions that taxpayers deserve to have answered.”
Warren’s reaction to Trump’s election has been a study in growing hostility, with a near-daily stream of social media postings denouncing the president-elect, his transition team and the early announcements of his new cabinet. However, her Facebook posting failed to offer evidence of how Trump was making “a quick buck” during the transition process, and her claims of reported “disarray” comes on the same day that Trump announced candidates to fill several cabinet-level positions, including the offer to have Dr. Ben Carson as the next Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
In the letter to the GAO, Warren insisted that the agency “examine conflicts of interest related to business holdings of Mr. Trump and his family, potential violations of protocol and national security concerns related to Mr. Trump's communications with foreign leaders, and transparency related to the use of taxpayer funds in the transition.” Neither the GAO nor the Trump transition team publicly commented on the Warren request.
