THE CANDIDATE

Federal issue

Government accountability & ethics

Federal ethics policy is set by the Ethics in Government Act, IG Act, Lobbying Disclosure Act, FECA, and chamber rules. Debate focuses on congressional stock trading, IG independence, lobbying disclosure, dark-money limits, Supreme Court ethics, and revolving-door restrictions.

Candidate positions on Government accountability & ethics: see where every 2026 federal candidate stands, grouped by stance and sourced from federal roll-call voting records.

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About this issue

Federal government accountability and ethics policy is shaped by the Ethics in Government Act, the Inspector General Act, the Lobbying Disclosure Act, the Federal Election Campaign Act, and the rules of the House and Senate. Active debate focuses on stock-trading restrictions for members of Congress and senior executive-branch officials, presidential financial disclosure, Office of Government Ethics authority, inspector-general independence and removal protections, lobbying-registration thresholds, the Foreign Agents Registration Act, campaign-finance disclosure including dark-money limits, Supreme Court ethics codes, and revolving-door cooling-off periods. Supporters of stronger rules argue tighter restrictions on personal financial conflicts and political spending are needed to restore public trust; supporters of more limited reform argue current law adequately covers material conflicts and that further restrictions burden public service. Whistleblower protections and Freedom of Information Act administration are adjacent debates. (See: Congressional Research Service, "Government Ethics: An Overview"; U.S. Office of Government Ethics annual report to Congress.)

Supporting (136)

Opposing (139)

No public position (182)

Positions derived from 457 candidates' Voting record (federal roll-call data, cycle 2026). Source: GovTrack. Read our methodology for how we collect and verify this data.

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