Government operations and workforce · Federal workforce and hiring

Executive Order 13989: Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel

President: Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Required Biden administration appointees to sign an ethics pledge covering gifts, lobbying, revolving-door restrictions and hiring practices.

Status: Revoked.

Is Executive Order 13989 still in effect? No. Executive Order 14148, signed January 20, 2025, revoked EO 13989 in section 2(e). OGE now confirms that employees and former employees who signed its pledge are no longer subject to those pledge commitments. Independent statutory and regulatory ethics restrictions remain separate; the pledge did not simply expire because the Biden administration ended. EO 14148, section 2(e); OGE revocation annotation.

A compass, scales of justice and a signed pledge sit beside a revolving door and a government building.
Executive-branch ethics and the revolving door, illustrated symbolically; the pledge shown is not an authentic signed document. EO Explained · site-generated editorial illustration · not documentary evidence.

What does Executive Order 13989 do?

Agency ethics officials were assigned to administer the pledge, and the Office of Government Ethics to provide guidance and waiver disclosures.

Administration position: The order’s findings and policy rationale were the Biden administration’s positions. This guide distinguishes them from implementation records and judicial rulings.

The signed pledge was an additional condition for covered noncareer appointees, not a substitute for government ethics law. It addressed lobbyist gifts, former-employer and former-client participation, prior lobbying, certain post-employment activity, golden-parachute payments and hiring decisions. Its definition excluded appointment solely as a uniformed-service commissioned officer or as a member of the Senior Foreign Service; it was not a requirement for every federal worker.

Several obligations originally extended beyond government service. Depending on the pledge paragraph, the clocks included two years after appointment, two years after leaving office, a separate one-year restriction on materially assisting prohibited lobbying, or the longer of the administration’s remainder and two years after departure. The later OGE revocation annotation is therefore more precise evidence of the pledge’s cessation than treating it as completed at the end of Biden’s term.

Signed order, operative sections.

SignedJanuary 20, 2021
Lead officialsOffice of Government Ethics and agency ethics officials
Express timingPledge on appointment; restrictions varied from one to two years

Before and after

Before the order

Executive-branch ethics statutes and regulations applied, supplemented by prior administrations’ appointee pledges.

After the order

Biden appointees signed and were administered under the pledge; the administration ended in January 2025 and EO 14148 revoked the order, while surviving statutory duties continued.

OGE’s February 18, 2021 implementation advisory distinguished administration from the signed text. It required waiver posting within 10 business days and notification to an OGE desk officer within seven calendar days after posting, whereas the original order said public within 10 days. These are historical implementation instructions, not a current claim that revoked pledge restrictions still bind former appointees. OGE LA-21-04.

Who had to do what

Original directions and timing, distinct from later implementation
Agency or officialDirectionTiming
Covered appointeesSign the contractual pledge and comply with its applicable gift, revolving-door, golden-parachute and hiring commitments.Sign upon becoming an appointee; restrictions have their own service, appointment and post-employment periods; sections 1–2.
Agency headsEstablish signature, ethics-agreement and counseling procedures with OGE; retain pledges and waivers permanently in personnel files; establish procedures for investigating possible violations and possible additional lobbying bars after notice and hearing.On appointment and as administration/enforcement requires; permanent document retention; sections 4(a), 4(e), 5(b).
Counsel to the PresidentPerform the administration duties for the Executive Office of the President; approve applicable former-lobbyist ethics agreements before work; consult on waivers and OGE procedures.Agreement approval before the appointee starts work; other consultation as required; sections 3–4.
OMB DirectorAfter consultation with White House Counsel, certify written waivers on the specified inconsistency or public-interest grounds; consult on procurement-lobbying recommendations.Waiver effective on signature; original section 3(b) says public within 10 days. No fixed clock for the section 4(c)(iv) report.
OGE DirectorProvide the pledge, advice and appropriate rules/procedures; consult OPM on specified revolving-door matters; report on procurement-lobbying compliance and expansion of procurement revolving-door restrictions.Annual public report on administration; no express fixed deadline for the two recommendation reports; sections 4(c)–(d).
OPM DirectorConsult with OGE on specified procedures concerning the pledge’s paragraph 6 and on the procurement revolving-door report.As those procedures/report are developed; no separate fixed deadline; sections 4(c)(iii)(E), 4(d).
Attorney GeneralConsult on specified ethics advice, rules and reports; where warranted request investigations and bring civil actions seeking authorized relief for pledge breaches.When the stated enforcement predicates arise; no fixed litigation deadline; sections 4–5.

Original signed duties and timing.

What happened next

Biden signed EO 13989 and its additional appointee pledge. Signed order.

OGE issued LA-21-03, distributing the pledge and explaining initial coverage and interpretive guidance. OGE initial advisory.

The order was published at 86 FR 7029. Federal Register publication.

OGE LA-21-04 recorded delegated waiver authority for designated agency ethics officials after White House Counsel consultation and explained public posting and OGE notification. OGE waiver guidance.

EO 14148 section 2(e) revoked EO 13989. OGE’s current annotation confirms the signed pledge commitments no longer apply to employees or former employees. Signed revocation.