Ivanka Trump will become an official - unpaid - federal employee in her father’s White House, according to reports.
“We are pleased that Ivanka Trump has chosen to take this step in her unprecedented role as First Daughter and in support of the President,” the White House said in a statement to The New York Times on Wednesday.
“Ivanka’s service as an unpaid employee furthers our commitment to ethics, transparency, and compliance and affords her increased opportunities to lead initiatives driving real policy benefits for the American public that would not have been available to her previously.”
Earlier this month, the White House confirmed that Ivanka would have an office in the West Wing, despite the fact that she did not have an official White House role. This arrangement raised ethics concerns, which Ivanka has since acknowledged in a statement.
“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,” she said.
“Throughout this process I have been working closely and in good faith with the White House Counsel and my personal counsel to address the unprecedented nature of my role.”
Ivanka’s husband Jared Kushner is senior advisor to the President in the Trump White House. He has recently received an enhanced brief - leading an office on American innovation.
In addition to numerous visible contributions to her father’s agenda, Ivanka has also reportedly advised her father not to take a number of actions, most notably working to ditch a draft executive order that would have rolled back Obama-era protections for LGBT Americans.
With additional files from Washington D.C.