By Betsy Klein CNN
Ivanka Trump is taking a step beyond her father when it comes to untangling herself from the family business.
Trump’s eldest daughter will divest of significant assets, including all of her common stock, and convert her equity in the Trump Organization into fixed payments, per an official briefing on behalf of the transition.
Her decision to take these steps, according to the official, stems from her husband’s participation in the administration not her father’s. It was announced earlier this week that Ivanka’s husband, Jared Kushner, will be senior adviser to the president.
But while Ivanka Trump has no formal title within the President-elect’s administration yet, she played a key role advising her father during the campaign, and it is unlikely that will change. Trump transition aides are planning for an “Office of the First Family,” in the East Wing where the current office of the first lady is located, sources familiar with the plan told CNN in December, and Ivanka is expected to play a prominent role in the White House.
Donald Trump, as president, is exempt from federal conflict of interest laws. But officials who work for him must agree to avoid business interests that could conflict with their government roles.
The fixed payments mean she will have no access to profits from the business — a major break from the arrangement announced by her father Wednesday, which is already being criticized by the Office of Government Ethics.
The President-elect will put his investments and business holdings into some type of trust controlled by sons Donald Jr. and Eric, who will lead the Trump Organization while their father is in office.
“She wants to go beyond what her father did, because she doesn’t believe he has to deal with conflicts, she wants to. The reason she wants to? She plans to be a ‘modern-day first daughter,’” said Monica Langley, a CNN political analyst and senior special writer at the Wall Street Journal. “She’s going to be in the West Wing and be one of his top advisers.”
Ivanka Trump is taking a formal leave of absence from the Trump Organization and her apparel and accessories brand when her father assumes office, she wrote in a Facebook post Wednesday.
“I will no longer be involved with the management or operations of either company,” she wrote.
Ivanka Trump’s own conflicts of interests came under fire in November after her company used her appearance on “60 Minutes” to promote a $10,800 bracelet from her fashion line in a “Style Alert” email.
“Ivanka Trump wearing her favorite bangle from the Metropolis Collection on ’60 Minutes,’” the email read, linking to the bracelet.
Later that month, she took steps toward separating from her eponymous brand in November, adding @IvankaTrumpHQ social media accounts that are separate from Trump’s personal feed. It’s unclear how she will disentangle her involvement with the upcoming March release of her book, “Women Who Work: Rewriting the Rules for Success.”
Trump announced Wednesday that she has has appointed Abigail Klem as president of her lifestyle brand.
Trump and Kushner recently settled on a home in Washington’s Kalorama neighborhood, where they will move from New York with their three children, ages 5, 3, and 9 months, in the coming weeks.
She is still deciding what role she wants to play in the new administration, but one arena where the businesswoman plans to focus: women’s investment and empowerment.
“I’m grateful for the overwhelming amount of outreach I’ve received from people all across America who have shared their stories and offered to extend their ideas and expertise in the areas I am deeply passionate about, including the education and empowerment of women and girls; leveling the playing field for female entrepreneurs and job creators and unleashing the potential of women in the workplace. I am eager to hear more from them as I determine the most impactful and appropriate ways for me to serve our country,” she wrote.
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