LEGISLATIVE REPORT XI
Hello, White House!
Congress has been busy once again.
A new collection of legislation has now received presidential signature, bringing proposed reforms to employee conduct, Votes of No Confidence, leave of absence procedures, congressional voting and the administration of justice.
This round is particularly focused on transparency and accountability. From requiring reasons behind Votes of No Confidence to be made public, to eliminating hidden congressional voting and strengthening publication requirements for Ethics Board reports, several of these bills seek to make White House government more visible to its employees.
Most of the legislation covered in this report has now completed the congressional and presidential stages and is awaiting successful judicial review before taking effect.
Let's take a look at what has been signed.
CODE OF CONDUCT AMENDMENT
A new amendment to the Code of Conduct Act 2025 seeks to clarify what employees may not request while working within the White House.
The legislation replaces an existing provision of Part 2, Section 1(1)(4) with a more comprehensive prohibition.
Under the amended provision, employees will be prohibited from asking for:
The amendment therefore expands the existing conduct rule beyond traditional requests for advancement or room privileges and expressly includes sensitive administrative permissions and wired information.
The purpose is straightforward: employees should receive positions, privileges and administrative access through the proper procedures rather than requesting them directly.
By placing all of these restrictions within one provision, the amendment also provides clearer guidance to employees and leadership when determining whether conduct violates White House rules.
The amendment will take effect following a successful judicial review.
NO CONFIDENCE TRANSPARENCY AMENDMENT
A significant transparency reform has also been signed concerning the White House's Vote of No Confidence, commonly referred to as a VNC.
The amendment changes the No Confidence Act 2025 by requiring the members initiating a Vote of No Confidence to provide a reason for doing so.
More importantly, that reason must be made public when the Voting and Electoral Commission triggers the vote.
The change does not remove the ability of eligible members to initiate a VNC. Instead, it introduces an additional element of public accountability.
Employees voting on whether an officeholder should remain in their position will therefore have access to the stated reasoning behind the challenge rather than being presented with a confidence vote without an accompanying public explanation.
This reform is particularly relevant because Votes of No Confidence can carry substantial consequences for White House leadership. Requiring the grounds for such a vote to be disclosed gives employees greater context when considering the matter.
In short: if someone is going to face a Vote of No Confidence, the White House will also know why.
The amendment will take effect following a successful judicial review.
EMPLOYMENT AND LEAVE OF ABSENCE REFORM
Leave of Absence procedures are also receiving another update.
A newly signed amendment to the Employment Act 2025 introduces several changes intended to improve the visibility and administration of employee leave.
One of the most noticeable changes will be on the White House website.
Employees who are actively on an approved Leave of Absence will receive a website tag identifying them as being on leave.
This should make it considerably easier for colleagues and leadership to determine whether an employee is currently absent under an authorised LOA without having to separately verify their status.
The amendment will also introduce a visual representation showing employees how many leave days remain available to them when submitting an LOA request.
This gives employees clearer information before making their request and should reduce uncertainty surrounding their remaining leave allowance.
The legislation also clarifies the process for the President when requesting a Leave of Absence by requiring the President to submit their own request to the Vice President.
Finally, the amendment removes Part 1, Section 4(4) of the Employment Act in its entirety as part of the wider cleanup of the existing framework.
Taken together, these reforms are designed to make the LOA system easier to understand, easier to monitor and more transparent for both employees and leadership.
The amendment will take effect following a successful judicial review.
CONGRESSIONAL VOTING GOES PUBLIC
One of the most consequential transparency measures in this legislative batch concerns Congress itself.
An amendment to the Legislation Act 2025 removes the statutory framework for hidden congressional voting.
Part 9 of the Act, previously concerned with hidden voting, will instead become the framework for public voting.
The new rule is unequivocal:
Votes on any Congressional bill or resolution must be public and viewable by all employees both during and after the vote.
The amendment further provides that no congressional vote may ever be hidden.
This represents a substantial change in congressional transparency.
Employees will be able to see how members of Congress vote while a measure is being considered and continue to access that voting information after the process has concluded.
The practical effect is greater accountability for legislators. Representatives and Senators will no longer be able to cast votes on legislation or resolutions through a hidden voting process.
For employees following the legislative process, this means congressional voting records will become an openly visible part of the lawmaking process.
Unlike most of the other bills in this report, this amendment does not state that it commences following judicial review. Its commencement provision specifies that the Act takes effect on the day of its proclamation.
PROSECUTION (AMENDMENT 12)
Another substantial change is coming to the Department of Justice.
The Prosecution (Amendment 12) Bill reforms the circumstances under which the Department of Justice may decline a submitted criminal case.
Under the new framework, the Department may only decline a case where one of a defined set of circumstances exists.
These include situations where:
The legislation also introduces an important protection concerning appeals and petitions that rely on the appellant's testimony.
Such matters may not simply be declined because they depend upon that testimony.
Instead, the Department of Justice must refer the matter to the Court for determination.
This places the ultimate decision in the hands of the judiciary rather than allowing the Department to dispose of the matter administratively.
The reform therefore narrows prosecutorial discretion when declining cases and establishes clearer statutory grounds that the Department must follow.
For individuals submitting cases, appeals and petitions, it provides greater certainty regarding when the Department is legally entitled to reject their matter.
For the Department of Justice, it establishes a more precise decision-making framework and requires certain questions to be determined by the Court.
The amendment will take effect following a successful judicial review.
ETHICS BOARD REPORTING AND TRANSPARENCY REFORM
The final measure in this report introduces a substantial transparency reform concerning the Ethics Board.
The legislation amends the Prosecution Act 2025 and follows recommendations arising from the Committee's hearing with the Attorney General on 25 July 2026.
At the centre of the reform is a new statutory deadline.
Once the Ethics Board reaches a decision, the Attorney General will be responsible for publishing a public report within seven days.
Where meeting the seven-day deadline is not reasonably possible, the publication period may be extended—but by no more than four additional days.
The amendment goes further than simply imposing a deadline.
Ethics Board reports will be required to appear on a publicly accessible page of the official White House website, in a location designated by the Digital Services Administration.
The Attorney General will also be responsible for maintaining that repository and ensuring that previously published Ethics Board reports remain permanently accessible to the public.
A direct link to the repository must also be provided through the official Department of Justice page or another official White House location.
The legislation even accounts for technical disruption.
If the White House website becomes unavailable because of a failure or scheduled maintenance, the Attorney General must temporarily publish the report through another publicly accessible White House webpage or an official White House Discord channel until normal website access returns.
Perhaps most significantly, the amendment attaches potential consequences to non-compliance.
Failure to publish an Ethics Board report in accordance with the statutory requirements may constitute neglect of statutory duty and may be dealt with pursuant to the Crimes Act 2025.
The objective of the reform is therefore not merely to encourage publication—it creates an enforceable framework requiring Ethics Board decisions to remain accessible to employees and the wider White House community.
The White House website already maintains a dedicated Ethics Board Reports repository, making the proposed statutory requirements particularly relevant to the existing transparency system.
The amendment will take effect following a successful judicial review.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Presidential signature is not the end of the process for most of this legislative package.
Five of the six measures covered in this report expressly state that they will take effect only following a successful judicial review.
The Supreme Court will therefore have an important role in determining whether those amendments satisfy the requirements necessary to enter into force.
The congressional public-voting amendment is the exception. Its commencement provision instead provides that it becomes effective on proclamation.
Until the required commencement condition for each bill is satisfied, it is important to distinguish between legislation that has been signed and legislation that is already in force.
This latest round of legislation has a clear theme running through it: greater visibility into how the White House operates.
Employees may soon be able to see why a Vote of No Confidence has been initiated, identify colleagues who are on leave, track their remaining LOA allowance, inspect every congressional vote and access Ethics Board reports through a permanent public repository.
At the same time, reforms to the Code of Conduct and Prosecution Act seek to provide clearer rules governing employee behaviour and the Department of Justice's handling of submitted cases.
The bills have passed Congress.
They have received presidential signature.
For most of them, attention now turns to the Judicial Branch.
We will continue following each measure as it proceeds through judicial review and report on which amendments ultimately enter into force.
And with that, we come to the end of this edition.
Thank you for taking the time to read and for joining me as we explore the legislative life of the White House together. I hope this article gave you a clearer understanding of the subject and perhaps even left you with a few questions or ideas to carry into the conversations happening around Congress.
There will always be another bill to examine, another procedure to explain, and another development worth following — so this is certainly not goodbye for long.
Until the next article, stay informed, stay curious, and keep an eye on Congress.
Thank you for reading, and I look forward to welcoming you back very soon.
Signed,
ICEMAN
Senator of Washington District of Columbia
Certified Attorney
3rd Attorney General & 2nd Solicitor General
Former Associate Justice of The Supreme Court
Department of State - Foreign Service Officer
Office of Communications - Reporter
Medal of Service Recipient
Press Sec.
Senator GS-11 Comms FSO
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