On Monday, a White House official told CNN that Ivanka Trump will not only receive her very own office in the West Wing, but also security clearance and government-provided communication devices. However, she will not be an official government employee and won’t receive a salary.
This recent decision gives Ivanka Trump more access to her father’s administration—even though she holds no formal position, ever since President Trump’s inauguration, Trump has been present alongside President Trump and his senior advisors at meetings with world leaders.
The first daughter’s new role and relationship with her father’s administration has raised ethical concerns, and has left people wondering what this new role will entail. Her attorney Jamie Gorelick told Politico that Trump’s role will be to act as the president’s “eyes and ears” and also to provide general advice on topics like women’s empowerment issues.
Trump’s new position in the White House is the first of its kind; being that she is the first child of any President to play a major advising role in their parent’s administration. Gorelick told Politico that the first daughter plans to follow the same rules and ethics as government employees. However, because she is not a government employee, her position does not hold the same level of accountability.
Norm Eisen, former ethics czar in the Obama administration, told Politco, “There’s recognition that they’re in very uncertain territory here. The better thing to do would be to concede she is subject to the rules. It would create some outside accountability, because if she can voluntarily subject herself to the rules, she can voluntarily un-subject herself to the rules.”
Unfortunately, this new position should come as no surprise, as President Trump has appointed other family members to his cabinet and appointed Ivanka Trump’s husband, Jared Kushner as his official senior advisor. Due to the nature and guidelines of this new relationship, Ivanka Trump already has several ethic watchdogs keeping a close eye on her.