[verst]

In theory as a government employee you already fear getting in trouble with OGE (Office of Government Ethics) and in normal times this is truly enough. Nobody wants to have a conflict of interest or fail to disclose investments etc. However nothing is normal under the current administration...

[vjvjvjvjghv]

Ethics rules only apply to the lower ranks and as far I know, they are quite strict. Once you move up the chain, most rules become optional.

[verst]

I was a GS-15 before (same level most CTOs in government have). Maybe senior executive service roles (SES) might not concern themselves with ethics violations.

In any case the vast majority of government employees are on the general schedule.