Ivanka Trump is changing the course of her career as President Trump’s eldest daughter will become an unpaid government employee working in the West Wing in the near future.
Ivanka Trump said, “I have heard the concerns some have with my advising the President in my personal capacity while voluntarily complying with all ethics rules, and I will instead serve as an unpaid employee in the White House Office, subject to all of the same rules as other federal employees.”
When the idea of Ivanka Trump’s government role was first made public, ethics advocates such as Norm Eisen and Fred Wertheimer sent to Don McGhan, White House counsel, a letter stating their concern for the obvious ethical issues that may arise regarding Ivanka’s role in the government. Due to the high amounts of concern, President Trump has released an official statement sharing with Americans that his daughter will only serve as an advisor to him and will be bound to the same ethical standards that any other government official is held to.
Trump’s attorney, Jamie S. Gorelick, said, “Ivanka’s decision reflects both her commitment to compliance with federal ethics standards and her openness to opposing points of view.
Gorelick also said that Ivanka is being cooperative with all efforts to ensure ethics are not compromised and claims she will file a financial disclosure form required by all federal employees.
Ivanka Trump’s involvement with the government has sparked controversy amongst many because President Trump may have violated the nepotism law passed in 1967. The nepotism law prohibits any public official from the President to even a lower-level manager of a federal agency from hiring or promoting a relative. When Ivanka Trump’s husband Jared Kushner joined Trump’s team this past January, the Justice Department ruled that Kushner’s role as senior advisor does not violate any federal anti-nepotism laws.
According to Daniel Koffsky, a US governmental lawyer, the President enjoys an unusual degree of freedom when choosing his personal staff, a choice that Congress finds “suitable to the demands of his office,”. Koffsky said that the anti-nepotism law covers only appointments in an “executive” agency and that the White House Office is not an executive agency within the law. He also cited a separate law that gives the President broad powers to hire his staff.
According to CNN, officials are optimistic of Ivanka’s role in the government, stating, “she will not be his only source of input and insight, obviously, but she may be able to provide insights into the concerns of people whom he might not meet as President.”
