Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse Flagged After Ethics Watchdog Links His Votes to Wife’s Environmental Organization

Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is accused of breaching ethics rules after voting to fund his wife’s environmental nonprofit.

The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust warned that Ocean Conservancy, the charity for which Sandra Whitehouse works through via her consulting firm, has benefited from millions in federal grant dollars over the years, some of which was championed by her husband, according to a Monday report from Fox News.

“Senator Whitehouse directly voted for legislation that recently led to $6.9 million of taxpayer funds being paid to an organization for which his wife works and receives an income from,” the watchdog group wrote in a letter to Senate Ethics Committee Chairman James Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma.

Ocean Conservancy has received over $14.2 million in federal grants since 2018.

That includes two significant grants given to the nonprofit just last year.

Ocean Conservancy took $5.2 million from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for marine debris cleanup, plus another $1.7 million from the Environmental Protection Agency for the same purpose.

Sandra Whitehouse has received almost $2.7 million from Ocean Conservancy since 2010, either directly or through her consulting firm, according to tax documents analyzed by Fox News.

Sen. Whitehouse championed and voted for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which funded the first grant, and the appropriations bill for the EPA that funded the second grant.

The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust added that “while these two grants alone appear to be a conflict of interest, it is even more egregious in the context of Senator Whitehouse’s long history of working on legislation being lobbied for by organizations tied to his wife.”

He was a sponsor of the International Maritime Pollution Accountability Act, a bill for which Ocean Conservancy lobbied.

Whitehouse serves as the ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and he co-founded the Senate’s “Oceans Caucus.”

The letter added that Ocean Conservancy also “advocated and secured billions in funding for coastal restoration projects in the Inflation Reduction Act.”

Whitehouse meanwhile “not only voted for that legislation, but touted $3 billion in grant funding for ports and coastal restoration.”

“This circular relationship appears to be directly contrary to the Senate rules that broadly prohibit Senators from using the power of their office to benefit or appear to benefit themselves or their spouses,” the letter added.

Ocean Conservancy Vice President of External Affairs Jeff Watters told the outlet that “Dr. Sandra Whitehouse, a well-respected marine ecologist and ocean policy consultant, has not received compensation from these federal grants allocated to Ocean Conservancy.”

“For 40 years, Ocean Conservancy has been a global leader in marine debris cleanup through our signature initiative, the International Coastal Cleanup,” he added.

“The marine debris cleanup grants Ocean Conservancy received from NOAA came from laws passed with broad bipartisan support that then went through a competitive, independent selection process which designated Ocean Conservancy to be one among hundreds of NGOs to receive funding,” Watters claimed.

He added: “Ocean Conservancy’s selection was based on our decades of expertise in addressing marine debris and protecting the ocean.”

Elon Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency, voiced concern over the report about Whitehouse, seemingly linking the revelations to the entity’s efforts toward government reform.

“It’s always the spouse,” the tech mogul quipped.

Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.