Sen Chuck Schumer unveils anti-corruption agency aimed at Trump and future presidents

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced Thursday morning that he is introducing legislation to create a new federal agency tasked with investigating alleged corruption involving President Donald Trump and future presidential administrations.

During Public Citizen's "Combating Corruption" event, Schumer unveiled the new bill, calling it the "biggest, boldest and broadest proposal ever put forward to revitalize our anti-corruption institutions."

It would establish the Anti-Corruption Bureau, a new agency that would have subpoena power and could investigate the Trump administration even once Trump leaves office.

The bill would also allow citizens and state attorneys general to file lawsuits "to recover money stolen from the public through government corruption."

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"The idea is simple. If Donald Trump or one of his lackeys, sons or cronies uses government influence to steal from you, you deserve your day in court. Our bill has provisions that give priority to state attorneys general and to larger, more severe cases of corruption to ensure that frivolous suits don't get in the way of justice," Schumer said.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau would be led by seven board members who would be appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. To address possible bias, the board would be capped at three members from each party, with the seventh being nonpartisan.

The bill, if passed, would also represent a huge shake-up to the federal bureaucracy, since the Anti-Corruption Bureau would replace the Office of Government Ethics, the Federal Election Commission and the Office of Special Counsel, The Washington Post reported ahead of Schumer's speech.

More broadly, the bill would ban presidents and vice presidents — as well as their spouses and adult children — and many other senior administration officials from seeking or accepting gifts worth more than $50,000, the Post also reported.

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The bill would empower the Anti-Corruption Bureau to investigate violations dating back to Jan. 20, 2025 — the first day of Trump’s second term — and would establish a 10-year statute of limitations, according to the Post.

Schumer said the bureau would be given "a self-sustaining funding source to guarantee its independence, much like the Federal Reserve."

Trump has repeatedly targeted Federal Reserve officials, including by considering whether to remove former Chair Jerome Powell before his term expired and attempting to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook. None of those attempts were successful.

"What if Trump tries to commandeer [the Anti-Corruption Bureau] to go after his political opponents?" Schumer said. "This would come at a steep price. Our bill explicitly prohibits weaponizing the bureau."

Schumer rattled off a number of supposed conflicts of interest Trump has been accused of having, including his solicitation of private donations for the White House ballroom project and his family's various crypto ventures.

"Trump has raked in at least $2.2 billion since taking office 18 months ago. Together, the Trump family has made at least $4 billion in that time," Schumer said. "How does a president and his family secure billions in profits just after a year and a half in office? How? By exploiting the information, access and influence that only the president of the United States can have."

Throughout Schumer's remarks, he emphasized that while Trump was the genesis of the legislation, it would not solely apply to him.

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"Trump has created obnoxious new ways to undo government ethics that no one ever imagined the president would attempt. But picture if our next president is an even more devious or competent crook. The bill isn't just about this moment. It's about restoring American's trust in government long term," Schumer said.

He also suggested that Republicans are privately frustrated by Trump's alleged abuses of office and that they would "welcome this type of legislation."

The bill’s first cosponsors include Sens. Andy Kim, D-N.J.; Alex Padilla, D-Calif.; and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Schumer said.