REPRIMANDED

Wilbur Ross Vows to Sell All Stocks After Ethics Warning

The commerce secretary was told his failure to divest assets on time had “negatively affected” public trust in Trump’s administration.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Thursday vowed to divest his remaining equity holdings after being warned by a government ethics watchdog that hanging on to certain assets “created the potential for a serious criminal violation.” Upon joining the Trump administration, Ross had signed an ethics agreement pledging to divest a slew of his assets worth $336 million within 90 days of his confirmation, and more complex assets within 180 days. But filings later showed he failed to divest certain assets in the set time frame, with some sold more than six months after the deadline. Those delays led the Office of Government Ethics to warn that Ross’ failure to keep his promises may have “negatively affected” public trust in the White House. Ross responded Thursday by vowing to sell off equities that his ethics agreement allowed him to keep and contribute the proceeds in U.S. Treasury securities.