The transition team of President-elect Donald Trump announced on Jan 9, Monday that Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner would take a seat as a senior advisor in the White House. This statement has raised eyebrows of many government officials, as appointing a member of the family in new supervision is against the federal anti-nepotism law.
Kushner has played a significant role in Trump's campaign for President and is also a key confidant to the president. The team also announced that Kushner would not take any salary for the role and is expected to handle a broad profile that includes government operations and the Middle East policy.
Kushner, who is married to Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump, has a multi-billion dollar business that he is handling for the last ten years. But with the new upcoming responsibilities, he plans to resign from his current position as CEO and even sells most of his substantial assets before taking his post in White House that would help in minimizing the potential risks of conflicts of interest, Washington Post reported.
As per the ethical experts, the anti-nepotism law clearly states that "Any public official does not have authority to appoint or employ an individual who is a family member or relative of the public official in agencies". This regulation was passed in 1967 by Congress after former President J F Kennedy appointed his brother as attorney general. However, in contradiction White House is exempted from this law because it is not considered as an agency.
Though there are a lot of speculations surrounding the anti-nepotism statute, as per the lawyer hired by Kushner, Jamie S. Gorelick has confirmed to NY Times that the former is taking all necessary steps to comply with federal ethical laws.
Meanwhile, Ivanka Trump would also step down from her current roles in Trumps organization and from her fashion brands. She would also not be taking up any formal positions during her father's reign.
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