The House Oversight Committee has asked the Office of Government Ethics to investigate White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway’s endorsement of Ivanka Trump’s clothing line on national television, writing in a letter Thursday: “Conway’s statements appear to violate federal ethics regulations.”
“Conway’s comments clearly violate the ethical principles for federal employees and are unacceptable,” Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the Republican chairman of the Oversight Committee, and Rep. Elijah Cummings, the committee’s top Democrat, wrote in their letter to the Office of Government Ethics.
Earlier on Thursday, Conway had advocated for Ivanka Trump’s fashion line during an interview on Fox News.
Conway joked that she would give the president’s daughter “a free commercial here,” encouraging people to “go buy Ivanka’s stuff” and noting that she owned several items from the line.
“Conway’s statements appear to violate federal ethics regulations, which prohibit actions that imply a government endorsement of the ‘personal activities’ of another person,” Chaffetz and Cummings wrote.
The lawmakers noted that Conway’s official title, “counselor to President Trump,” had appeared onscreen during her interview Thursday morning.
Ivanka Trump’s fashion line grabbed headlines this week after Nordstrom’s decided to pull the first daughter’s products from its shelves, citing declining sales.
But Trump blasted the move as an attack on his daughter, taking to social media on Wednesday to lament that Ivanka Trump had “been treated so unfairly” by the department store chain.
A protest movement known as “Grab Your Wallet” had pushed major retailers to stop selling Ivanka Trump products in retaliation for some of her father’s controversial statements and policies.
Conway quickly drew criticism for her comments in support of the fashion line on Thursday, as Democrats and ethics groups seized on what they perceived as a potential conflict of interest.
A watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, filed a complaint with Office of Government Ethics Director Walter Shaub, an Obama appointee and an Obama donor, earlier Thursday.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Conway had been “counseled” on her actions, but did not elaborate on what measures were taken.
Susan Ferrechio and Alex Pappas contributed
