WASHINGTON _ Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants to know how ethics laws will affect Ivanka Trump as she goes to work in the White House without, apparently, being a government employee.
The Massachusetts Democrat joined Sen. Thomas R. Carper of Delaware in a Wednesday morning missive to the Office of Government Ethics questioning the White House's arrangement with the daughter of President Donald Trump.
"Ms. Trump's increasing, albeit unspecified, White House role, her potential conflicts of interest, and her commitment to voluntarily comply with relevant ethics and conflicts of interest laws have resulted in substantial confusion," the senators wrote.
Carper and Warren asked OGE what standards would apply to Trump had she become a federal employee, given that her lawyers have indicated she intends to comply with such regulations on a voluntary basis.
"If Ms. Trump is not following relevant laws, precedents, and legal opinions, what are the consequences for her?" the senators ask. "Which government officials are responsible for determining and enforcing those consequences?"
The senators also ask about the kinds of financial disclosures that would be required of actual political appointees serving in similar capacities while earning a federal paycheck.
Ivanka Trump's husband Jared Kushner has been a senior adviser to the president, and he has been a fixture within his father-in-law's White House.
