FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Contact:
Peter Jenkins, 202.265.4189; [email protected]
New Letter To OMB Director Vought Warns that OIRA Chief Jeffrey Clark’s “Acting” Role Is Illegal And Actions He Has Taken Are In Jeopardy
This Is the Latest Example Of Trump Administration Vacancies Act Violations
Washington, DC — In a new letter to U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) is warning that Jeffrey Clark’s role as “Acting Administrator” of the Office of information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) is in violation of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act (FVRA) and actions he has taken could be in legal jeopardy.
Mr. Clark is performing a major role at OIRA in authorizing deregulatory actions pushed by the Trump Administration, including environmental steps such as weakening Endangered Species Act regulations. Such actions could later be thrown out in court.
You can see PEER’s letter to Administrator Russell Vought here.
Under the FVRA, only three types of people may legally serve in an “acting” capacity after a position that requires Senate confirmation becomes vacant:
- The position’s official “first assistant,”
- Another official who has already been confirmed by the Senate for a different role, or
- A senior agency employee who has worked at the agency for at least 90 days in the past year and earns at least a GS-15 salary.
Mr. Clark did not meet any of these criteria, yet he has been issuing official OIRA actions using the “acting Director” title since his March appointment. To compound the hazard for both Clark and the many other “actings” within the Trump Administration, November 17th was the 300th day since President Trump’s inauguration. It was the deadline under FVRA by which acting officials must stop serving in any position that requires Senate confirmation (with rare exceptions). For officials who are not legally eligible to continue in such positions, formal decisions they issue could be ruled “null and void” by a court.
“Russell Vought ordered the firing of tens of thousands of legitimate federal civil servants, now he also must fire the illegitimate Jeffrey Green from his acting job,” said Peter Jenkins, Senior Counsel at PEER. “Violating FVRA and taking detours around the U.S. Senate’s advice and consent role in the Constitution are rampant across several federal agencies – we aim to stop it.”
Notably, the DC Bar Association recommended that Jeffery Clark be disbarred for his 2020 election denial actions; a final decision is pending before the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. The Bar found he engaged in dishonest, reckless conduct by pushing the Justice Department to send a letter falsely questioning the presidential election results in Georgia. On November 9, Mr. Trump formally pardoned him and about 70 other officials for those actions.
History Repeating Itself
During the first Trump Administration, multiple courts struck down agency actions for similar FVRA violations. For example, in 2020, a federal judge removed William Perry Pendley from his role as Acting Director of the Bureau of Land Management after finding his appointment unlawful — invalidating several of his agency’s management plans as a result. President Trump’s repeated use of unconfirmed agency heads led to several other reversals of Administration actions in 2020.
Background resources:
- Clark’s ESA actions
- Clark’s deregulatory Memo
- Similar violations in Interior Department
- “Advice and Consent” Is the Law
- Federal Vacancies Reform Act criteria and deadlines (5 U.S.C. § 3345), and S.C. § 3349a
- 2020 Pendley ejection decision – New York Times
- Cuccinelli ruling on improper “acting” appointment – Vox
About PEER
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that defends civil servants who protect the environment, safeguards scientific integrity, and holds the government accountable.
