Ivanka Trump is getting her own office in the West Wing despite having no official role in the administration.
A White House spokesperson confirmed reports that Donald Trump’s daughter would be getting her own space as well as access to classified information and a government-issued phone.
The privileges come even though she is not expected to have an official title and will not be paid a salary, Reuters reported.
Jamie Gorelick, an attorney and ethics adviser for Ivanka Trump, said she would follow the ethics rules that apply to government employees, according to the Associated Press.
There is little precedent for a member of the first family with this kind of influence.
The AP reported a source with knowledge of Ivanka’s thinking, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations, said she believes she can offer more independent perspective to her father by not serving as a White House staffer.
The news went down badly with many on social media...
Ivanka Trump’s husband, Jared Kushner, is already chief adviser to the President.
When it was announced he would be taking up the positions earlier this year, aides said Ivanka would not take on a role in her father’s White House but would focus on settling her family in Washington.
Ivanka has been a frequent behind-the-scenes adviser to her father and during Angela Merkel’s visit to the US last week, she sat next to the German chancellor.
Federal anti-nepotism laws prevent relatives from being appointed to government positions.
But the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel recently said the President’s “special hiring authority” allowed him to appoint Kushner to the West Wing staff.
Gorelick noted the office also made clear that the President could consult family members as private citizens, arguing this is what Ivanka Trump will be doing.