James Baehr
The data on this page comes from a financial disclosure filed by James Baehr, who was picked to be: General Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs. It is part of a collection of thousands of ethics documents ProPublica has been collecting from across the Trump administration.
Roles Outside Government
Officials are required to disclose paid or unpaid positions they hold or recently held outside the federal government, including roles as officer, director, trustee or employee. (Form 278e, Part 1)
| Organization | Position held | Endnote | Line No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Law Office of James Baehr LLC | Sole Member, 7/2021 - Present | 1 | |
| The Pelican Institute of Public Policy | Special Counsel, 1/2023 - Present | 2 | |
| Representatives Indemnity Company, Inc. | Director / President, 5/2021 - Present | 3 | |
| Students and Academics for Free Expression, Speech, and Political Action in Campus Education, Inc. | Director / Secretary, 1/2023 - Present | 4 | |
| AMERICA FIRST POLICY INSTITUTE | Senior Fellow, Center for 1776, 6/2021 - Present | 5 | |
| Louisiana's Veterans Affairs Commission | Commissioner, 8/2024 - Present | 6 | |
| Just Well Law | Counsel, 1/2022 - Present | 7 |
Employment Assets
Officials are required to disclose assets associated with their employment, including salary, retirement accounts, stocks, intellectual property and awards or prizes. (Form 278e, Part 2)
| Description | Value | Income | Income Type | Endnote | Line No. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Law Office of James Baehr LLC | $100K - $250K | $65,350 | Legal services income from sole proprietorship. | 1 | |
| The Pelican Institute of Public Policy | $210K | Salary/Bonus | 2 | ||
| Individual Taxable Retirement Account | 3 | ||||
| BNDX Vanguard Total International Bond ETF | $1,001 - $15,000 | None (or less than $201) | 3.1 | ||
| ITOT iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF | $15,001 - $50,000 | None (or less than $201) | 3.2 | ||
| VEA VANGUARD FTSE DEVELOPED MARKETS ETF | $15,001 - $50,000 | None (or less than $201) | 3.3 | ||
| IEMG iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF | $1,001 - $15,000 | None (or less than $201) | 3.4 | ||
| IVE iShares S&P 500 Value ETF | $1,001 - $15,000 | None (or less than $201) | 3.5 | ||
| SCHB Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF | $1,001 - $15,000 | None (or less than $201) | 3.6 | ||
| VBR Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF | $1,001 - $15,000 | None (or less than $201) | 3.7 | ||
| VOE Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF | $1,001 - $15,000 | None (or less than $201) | 3.8 | ||
| MUB iShares National AMT-Free Muni Bond ETF | $1,001 - $15,000 | None (or less than $201) | 3.9 | ||
| IWS iShares Russell Midcap Value ETF | $1,001 - $15,000 | None (or less than $201) | 3.10 | ||
| TFI SPDR Nuveen Bloomberg Municipal Bond ETF | $1,001 - $15,000 | None (or less than $201) | 3.11 | ||
| BNDX Vanguard Total International Bond ETF | $1,001 - $15,000 | None (or less than $201) | 3.12 | ||
| IWN iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF | $1,001 - $15,000 | None (or less than $201) | 3.13 | ||
| Individual Roth IRA Account | 4 | ||||
| VEA VANGUARD FTSE DEVELOPED MARKETS ETF | $1,001 - $15,000 | None (or less than $201) | 4.1 | ||
| SPLG SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF | $1,001 - $15,000 | None (or less than $201) | 4.2 | ||
| EMB iShares Emerging Markets USD Bond ETF | $1,001 - $15,000 | None (or less than $201) | 4.3 | ||
| VWO Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF | $1,001 - $15,000 | None (or less than $201) | 4.4 | ||
| SIMPLE IRA Retirement Account | 5 | ||||
| Vanguard LifeStrategy Growth Inv | $1,001 - $15,000 | None (or less than $201) | 5.1 | ||
| Vanguard Wellington Inv | $1,001 - $15,000 | None (or less than $201) | 5.2 | ||
| The Law Office of James Baehr LLC contingency fee cases (value not readily ascertainable) | None (or less than $201) | 6 |
Employment Agreements
Officials are required to disclose agreements relating to other jobs, including what will happen with any small businesses they own during government service and any continued health care coverage, planned leaves of absence, severance or bonuses. (Form 278e, Part 3)
| Organization | Agreement | Endnote | Line No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Law Office of James Baehr LLC | Upon confirmation, I will withdraw from all active cases and place The Law Office of James Baehr LLC into inactive status. No new legal matters will be accepted during my period of government service. All outstanding fees for legal services rendered prior to my government employment will fixed before I enter federal service. I also will irrevocably transfer to a third party my interest in five contingency fee cases; I will not receive any payments relating to these cases or the transfer of my interests in the same. I do not have any arrangements to receive referral fees from other attorneys after entering government service, and I will not engage in any outside legal practice while serving in my federal position. (2025-02-01) | 1 | |
| The Pelican Institute for Public Policy | I will continue to hold my Pelican Institute SIMPLE IRA. No additional contributions will be made to the SIMPLE IRA by the Pelican Institute after my departure. (2022-01-01) | 2 |
Compensation
Officials are required to disclose the sources of any compensation above $5,000 in a year. (Form 278e, Part 4)
| Organization | Description | Endnote | Line No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Law Office of James Baehr LLC | Services as Sole Member | 1 | |
| The Pelican Institute of Public Policy | Services as Special Counsel | 2 | |
| Representatives Indemnity Company, Inc. (Client of The Law Office of James Baehr LLC) | Director and legal services | 3 | |
| Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments, Inc. (Client of The Law Office of James Baehr LLC) | Legal services | 4 | |
| Cabot Lodge Securities LLC (Client of The Law Office of James Baehr LLC) | Legal services | 5 | |
| Berthel, Fisher & Company Financial Services, Inc. (Client of The Law Office of James Baehr LLC) | Legal services | 6 | |
| America First Policy Institute, Inc. (Client of The Law Office of James Baehr LLC) | Legal and consulting services | 7 | |
| Frost Brown Todd LLP (Client of the Law Office of James Baehr LLC) | Legal services | 8 |
Spouse’s Assets
Officials are required to disclose their spouse’s assets, including salary and retirement accounts worth more than $1,000. (Form 278e, Part 5)
Other Assets and Income
Officials are required to disclose other assets and sources of investment income belonging to them, their spouse or their dependent children. These include annuities, bonds, cash, college savings plans, farms, precious metals, real estate, stocks, trusts and wills. (Form 278e, Part 6)
| Description | Value | Income | Income Type | Endnote | Line No. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanguard Growth Index Fund ETF Class Shares (VUG) | $100K - $250K | $201 - $1,000 | 1 | ||
| Vanguard Value Index Fund ETF Shares (VTV) | $50,001 - $100K | $1,001 - $2,500 | 2 | ||
| iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP) | $50,001 - $100K | $201 - $1,000 | 3 | ||
| Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond Index Fund ETF Class Shares (VCSH) | $50,001 - $100K | $1,001 - $2,500 | 4 | ||
| Vanguard Small-Cap Growth Index Fund ETF Class Shares (VBK) | $15,001 - $50,000 | $201 - $1,000 | 5 | ||
| iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF (EFG) | $15,001 - $50,000 | $5,001 - $15,000 | 6 | ||
| WisdomTree Interest Rate Hedged High Yield Bond Fund (HYZD) | $15,001 - $50,000 | $1,001 - $2,500 | 7 | ||
| SPDR S&PEmerging Markets Small Cap ETF (EWX) | $15,001 - $50,000 | $201 - $1,000 | 8 | ||
| PIMCO Active Bond Exchange-Traded Fund (BOND) | $1,001 - $15,000 | $201 - $1,000 | 9 | ||
| Vanguard Real Estate Index Fund ETF Shares (VNQ) | $1,001 - $15,000 | $201 - $1,000 | 10 | ||
| FIGS Inc. Class A Common Stock (FIGS) | $15,001 - $50,000 | None (or less than $201) | 11 | ||
| U.S. Bank (Cash) | $15,001 - $50,000 | None (or less than $201) | 12 | ||
| CoinBase Wallet | 13 | ||||
| Bitcoin | $15,001 - $50,000 | None (or less than $201) | 13.1 | ||
| US Digital Currency | $1,001 - $15,000 | None (or less than $201) | 13.2 |
Liabilities
Officials are required to disclose their liabilities totaling more than $10,000, as well as any linked to their spouse or dependent children. These include mortgages, credit card debt and student loans. The interest rates and loan repayment terms are also required. (Form 278e, Part 8)
| Creditor | Description | Endnote | Line No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Bank Mortgage | type: Mortgage on Personal Residence, amount: $500,001 - $1,000,000, year-incurred: 2021, rate: 2.5, term: 30 years | 1 | |
| Chase Bank Credit Card | type: Credit Card, amount: $10,001 - $15,000, year-incurred: 2025, rate: Variable, term: Revolving | 2 | |
| NelNet | type: Student Loan, amount: $50,001 - $100,000, year-incurred: 2019, rate: Variable, term: Variable | Loans from this source aggregate to more than the reporting threshold, but the balances of the individual loans are below the reporting threshold. The Year Incurred ranges from 2015 to 2019 and the Rate ranges from 3.76% to 4.660%. The term for these loans is variable because they are under an income-driven repayment plan and do not have a traditional fixed loan term | 3 |
| NelNet | type: Student Loan, amount: $15,001 - $50,000, year-incurred: 2019, rate: 6.600%, term: Variable | The term for this loan is variable because it is under an income-driven repayment plan and does not have a traditional fixed loan term. | 4 |
About the Data
Most political appointees and senior officials in the executive branch are required by law to file public financial disclosure reports. These are documents that detail their financial holdings, positions they hold outside government, their spouse’s holdings, their liabilities and their recent financial transactions (such as buying or selling stock) during a defined reporting period.
The most senior officials file their disclosures with an agency called the Office of Government Ethics, and others file them with a designated ethics official within their agency. The Ethics in Government Act allows members of the public and the press to request these documents.
We’re publishing this information to give the public an important glimpse into the financial ties of a powerful and often hidden cadre of presidential appointees within the federal bureaucracy.
The main document type included in the database is the OGE Form 278e, which appointees must file when they are nominated (for Senate-confirmed appointees) or when they enter government (all others), and then annually while in the position. Another common document included is the OGE Form 278-T, also known as a periodic transaction report, which all public filers must submit within 30 days of a transaction. We are also making other ethics documents available, such as ethics agreements, certificates of divestiture and other documents we have obtained under the Ethics in Government Act.
