Ivanka Trump, the first daughter of President Donald Trump, has an office in the West Wing of the White House along with security clearance and government-issued communications devices. Critics are speaking out about Ivanka's informal role in the White House. It also has historians and ethics experts questioning if this assignment is legal and ethical, especially while she continues her fashion and jewelry business.
Ivanka Trump has been photographed while attending key meetings with foreign leaders and Cabinet members. Observers criticized her for seating next to Chancellor Angela Merkel during the German leader's recent visit.
She received backlash once for sitting at the president's desk in the Oval Office.
Government ethics rules
Ivanka and her attorney have said there is nothing illegal about her having an office above her father's office in the White House. Her attorney insisted that she is not breaking any government ethics rules. However, Harvard Law Review editor Helen Klein Murillo and Brookings Institution national security fellow Susan Hennessey don't agree with Ivanka and her attorney. The two women published in the Washington Post that the first daughter's role does breach ethical standards. Previous administrations had to follow ethical rules. It is only during the Trump's presidency that so many ethical rules have been challenged.
Ivanka's qualifications
Putting legal and ethical issues aside, Ivanka's qualifications are also questioned. Her lack of political experience raises concern. Some have described the situation as the blind leading the blind because her father also lacks political experience.
Julian Zelizer, a political historian at Princeton University, pointed out that when Ivanka's husband, Jared Kushner, took his unpaid position as the president's senior adviser, he turned over his role in his father's real estate business to family members.
President Trump put his two oldest sons in charge of The Trump Organization. Ivanka, on the other hand, has not turned the ownership of her fashion and jewelry business over to anyone else.
White House views
In reference to the White House, leaders are comfortable with the position Ivanka is taking. They insist that Ivanka's role is legal, and there is nothing unethical about it. The public opinion is that her visible presence in the West Wing could be seen as an avenue to promote her products while taking care of national business.
