First daughter Ivanka Trump under fire after announcement of new White House role
Critics are speaking out about Ivanka Trump's new, informal White House role which will reportedly involve a West Wing office and security clearance.
Despite assurances from Ivanka Trump and her attorney that she would comply with government ethics rules, a Washington Post op-ed by Harvard Law Review editor Helen Klein Murillo and Brookings Institution national security fellow Susan Hennessey states that "the very nature of her proposed role breaches ethical standards to which previous administrations have adhered for generations."
Ivanka Trump, Angela Merkel pictures raise eyebrows
According to them, "...her undisclosed financial entanglements raise the specter of decision making based on individual or financial gain, rather than in the national interest."
For example, while Ivanka has distanced herself from her eponymous line of products, she still owns the company, notes Politico.
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Nevertheless, they admit that her new role is likely legal despite a federal law prohibiting nepotism.
This is because its does not typically apply to the president's choice of advisers which is one reason Trump was able to hire his son-in-law, Ivanka's husband, Jared Kushner.
Meanwhile, Vox points to the first daughter's lack of experience, saying, "Her appointment is pure nepotism: There is nothing on her résumé that suggests Ivanka Trump is qualified, by any traditional definition of the term, to advise the president of the United States."
Politico notes that this may be one reason observers were reportedly puzzled over her seating placement directly beside Chancellor Angela Merkel during the German leader's recent White House visit.
