CREW has received records from the Department of Agriculture, Department of Education and Department of Labor. Review them below.

Given the recent exposé of senior State Department official Mina Chang’s inflated credentials and her recommendation from Texas Congressman Michael McCaul on his official letterhead, CREW seeks all letters of recommendation for political appointees from a member of Congress to 20 federal agencies.

In this instance, Chang touted an edited TIME magazine cover featuring her face and bolstered her resume with falsified nonprofit career experience. Chang’s appointment may have slid under the radar partially due to a glowing recommendation she got from McCaul, in which he wrote about her giving a speech at the Republican National Convention that she did not actually give. Her appointment raises questions about whether other unqualified appointees also have received letters of recommendation from members of Congress.

These records should reveal whether or not Chang’s appointment is part of a greater pattern of problematic Congressional recommendations in the Trump administration. The public deserves to know the impact of members of Congress have in using their office to recommend individuals for political appointments at the highest levels of government

Records productions

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