Despite the fact that Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner will be working closely with Donald Trump in the White House, both have plans to remain at least somewhat connected to their respective businesses and financial holdings.
According to a new report from Vanity Fair, “Ivanka has decided to step down from management and operations of the Trump Organization and from her eponymous fashion brand, and will resign from all officer and director positions she currently holds within each of them, according to a statement from Kushner’s attorney.”
Sounds good, right? Not so fast.
The same report also notes that, despite putting some daylight between her and the Trump Organization, “she will get a fixed series of payments from the revenue of a spate of projects.
Instead of giving up all the profits, which she should be doing, Ivanka Trump will continue to receive “some” of them.
As ThinkProgress editor Judd Legum points out, this is hardly the way to assure the public that she won’t act or advise her father to act on behalf of their business interests instead of the American people.
3. I’m pretty sure that Ivanka receiving an ongoing cut of revenues from the Trump Org is not a way to solve her ethical problems.
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) January 10, 2017
When it comes to her husband, Jared Kushner, who will be a senior adviser to Trump after he takes office, he “will step down as chief executive of Kushner Companies and publisher of the Observer and will not have any involvement in either,” according to Vanity Fair.
That also sounds good, right? Not quite.
According to the report, Kushner “plans to divest from some of his holdings,” not all of them. Instead of having all of his business entanglements, he’ll just have some.
As Legum notes in the tweet below, it’s like saying someone is only a “little pregnant.”
4. Jared meanwhile will sell “some” of his holdings. Not really the way it works. Being a little conflicted is like being a little pregnant pic.twitter.com/p3BDHylmei
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) January 10, 2017
While their decision to give up some profits and distance themselves somewhat from their businesses and financial interests may exceed the low bar that Donald Trump has set throughout his time in politics, we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be fooled.
Even presidents or politicians without business conflicts have been required to meet tougher standards. With Trump and family, who have a web of financial entanglements, it’s even more imperative these standards be met.
They shouldn’t be rewarded for giving in a little. Instead, they need to be held accountable until they sever all of their financial ties and show they are committed to serving the people, not themselves.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
