Speaker Pelosi Announces Inaugural Director of Office of Whistleblower Ombudsman
Friday, February 21, 2020

On Friday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) named the first-ever director of the Office of the Whistleblower Ombudsman, an office established this Congress to handle confidential information from whistleblowers about government wrongdoing.

Shanna Devine, who previously worked at public interest organization Public Citizen, was announced as the inaugural director of the office.

The Office of the Whistleblower Ombudsman will provide best practices to House offices who receive whistleblower complaints. This program will effectively establish a reporting system for whistleblowers, help maintain the confidentiality of those reporting, and advise the staff of appropriate laws and policies that protect the information provided by the whistleblowers.

“Whistleblowers shine a bright light on malfeasance in our government and the private sector,” Pelosi said in her statement. “There has long been a bipartisan commitment to protecting the voices of those who speak the truth and put their livelihoods on the line to root out waste, fraud, and abuse.”

The Office will be an independent and nonpartisan office, with the director chosen by the Speaker of the House in consultation with the chairs and ranking members of the Committees on House Administration and Oversight and Reform.

Ben Kostyack contributed to this article

 

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