Government operations and workforce

Executive Order 13770: Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Appointees

President: Donald J. Trump

Required covered first-term appointees to sign an ethics pledge; revoked by a later Trump order.

Status: Revoked — by EO 13983 on January 19, 2021.

Is Executive Order 13770 still in effect? No. EO 13983 revoked it in 2021.

What does Executive Order 13770 do?

EO 13770 required covered executive-branch appointees to sign an ethics pledge addressing lobbying, former employers and clients, and post-service conduct. It provided for waivers and administration by the White House Counsel and agency ethics officials. President Trump revoked it through EO 13983 on January 19, 2021, effective at noon the next day. EO 13989 then established a different Biden-era pledge; EO 14148 revoked that pledge in 2025. Neither step expressly restored EO 13770, while ethics statutes and regulations continued independently.

Administration position: The pledge added administration-specific commitments to existing ethics law; waivers and enforcement had to follow its terms.
SignedJanuary 28, 2017
Pledge administratorWhite House Counsel
Express revocationEO 13983, effective January 20, 2021

Before and after

Before the order

Appointees were subject to federal ethics statutes and regulations.

After the order

Covered appointees signed the pledge while EO 13770 applied; EO 13983 then revoked it.

Who had to do what

Agency / officeActionTiming / position
Covered appointeesSign and observe the ethics pledgeDuring the order’s operation
White House CounselAdminister waivers and interpretationsDuring the order’s operation
Agency ethics officialsAdvise on pledge complianceDuring the order’s operation

What happened next

EO 13770 established the pledge.

EO 13983 revoked it, effective noon on January 20.

EO 13989 created a separate pledge.

EO 14148 revoked EO 13989 without reviving EO 13770.