Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is being accused of a potential conflict of interest by an ethics watchdog. (Getty Images)
Whitehouse's wife, Sandra, is employed as president of consulting firm Ocean Wonks LLC and has been since 2017, per her LinkedIn page. Before that, she was a direct employee of Ocean Conservancy, serving as Senior Policy Adviser beginning in 2008.
Ocean Conservancy has received more than $14.2 million in federal grants since 2008, per USASpending.gov. During 2024 alone, it was given two sizable grants, one for $5.2 million from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for marine debris cleanup in September and another for $1.7 million from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), again to assist with marine debris cleanup.
The former was funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) championed by the Biden administration and voted for by Sen. Whitehouse. The latter was funded through the EPA’s annual appropriations bill, which Whitehouse also voted for.
FOLLOWING KEY WINS, TRUMP POISED FOR CABINET COMPLETION IN RECORD TIME
"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," wrote FACT Executive Director Kendra Arnold.
"Altogether, Ocean Conservancy has spent millions on federal lobbying expenses over the years on issues relating to oceans, climate change, and environmental cleanup—issues directly championed by Senator Whitehouse, a longtime member (and current Ranking Member) of the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee and the co-founder of the Senate’s so-called 'Oceans Caucus."
Since 2010, Ocean Conservancy has paid Whitehouse a total of $2,686,800 either directly or through her firm, per tax documents.
SENATE BORDER BUDGET TRIUMPHS AFTER ALL-NIGHT SESSION WHILE TRUMP-BACKED HOUSE BILL LAGS
One of the grants was funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. (Photographer: Daniel Lozada/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"With the support of these bipartisan federal funds, Ocean Conservancy plans to remove hundreds of thousands of pounds of trash from beaches and waterways around the U.S., which will not only protect these places for generations of Americans to enjoy but improve the health of our fishing and tourism industries," he said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Watters further pointed to the notable Republican support both the BIL and the EPA appropriations bill received in the Senate.
Whitehouse, Lankford and Coons did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication.
Julia Johnson is a politics writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, leading coverage of the U.S. Senate. She was previously a politics reporter at the Washington Examiner.
Follow Julia's reporting on X at @JuliaaJohnson_ and send tips to Julia.Johnson@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ethics-watchdog-flags-senator-helping-make-millions-wifes-green-nonprofit