Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, is asking for an investigation into whether a top health official in the Trump administration has violated ethical obligations in the handling of Medicaid waivers from states.

In a letter sent to the general counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Oregon Democrat wondered about possible violations by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma in how she handled waivers from states that had worked with her when she held a private consulting business, SVC Inc.

In that role, before joining the Trump administration, she advised states about how to make changes to their Medicaid programs, which cover low-income people and vulnerable populations such as children and people with disabilities. She vowed that asCMS administrator she would recuse herself from working on certain waivers or would seek written permission in cases where she would be involved.

Wyden detailed statements from governors in Arkansas, Kentucky, and Iowa in various news outlets in which they said they spoke to Verma about changes to their healthcare programs. He wrote in his letter that "governors representing multiple states indicate that Administrator Verma has personally and substantially participated in waivers submitted to CMS by states that were clients of her previous consulting business. "

In addition to opening an ethics investigation, Wyden also asked the HHS counsel, Robert Charrow, to describe the steps that his office takes to make sure Verma complies with her ethics agreements and whether she sought exemptions when she spoke to governors in each