Elizabeth Warren is demanding an investigation into Mick Mulvaney’s talks with USC

A top Congressional Democrat is calling for an investigation into Mick Mulvaney for his reported discussions with the University of South Carolina about possibly becoming the school’s next president.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, sent a letter to federal ethics officials Tuesday calling for an investigation into whether Mulvaney, President Donald Trump’s acting chief of staff, broke ethics laws by failing to disclose his discussions with USC.

“Under the Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge Act (STOCK), Mr. Mulvaney ‘may not directly negotiate or have any agreement of future employment’ with an outside entity unless he discloses the negotiations with the relevant agency’s ethics office,” according to the letter posted online by Politico.

Warren’s letter cited a Jan. 7 New York Times article that said Mulvaney was interested in being USC’s next president and had spoken with top university officials about the position.

When the Times story broke, the White House denied Mulvaney was seeking employment elsewhere. USC, for its part, did not comment on whether Mulvaney was being considered for the position.

“We will not discuss applicants or rumored candidates,” USC spokesman Wes Hickman said Monday when asked about a different, rumored USC presidential candidate. “Nor will we identify applicants until we have four finalists.”

Though the name of the STOCK law may imply it applies only to Congress, the law applies to all federal employees who have to file a financial disclosure form, according to the law.

Should Warren succeed, it could pay political dividends. South Carolina is an early and crucial state in presidential primary elections and Mulvaney, a former S.C. Congressman, is one of the most highly ranked Republicans from the Palmetto State.

Harris Pastides, USC’s current president, will end his 10-year career at the state’s largest school on July 31.

Mulvaney did not return a call or a text message seeking comment. Asked for comment, a spokeswoman for Warren referred to the senator’s letter.

This story was originally published January 16, 2019 at 2:14 PM.