Is Ivanka Trump Taking a Leave of Absence From Company For a White House Role?

The New York Times published a piece yesterday that reported President-elect Donald Trump was looking to hand over control of his companies to his two adult sons. At the same time, he would still keep a financial stake in the business and not divest, which would likely continue the accusations of conflict of interest when it comes to his personal and business finances.

However, while the headline is about Mr. Trump retaining his stake in his businesses while serving as POTUS, perhaps even more interesting is the revelation that his daughter Ivanka Trump is looking at taking a leave of absence from her own companies.

Before deciding how to separate from her father’s business, Ms. Trump is also assessing how to disentangle from her apparel and licensing brands, which are named for her, two people briefed on her plans said. She plans on appointing a president of her company to run the day-to-day operations.

The Trumps are exploring what was described by one person briefed on the discussions as a “legal structure” that would give Mr. Trump and his daughter separation from the company. The New York Times spoke to two people involved in the transition process who were granted anonymity to speak candidly about continuing negotiations.

It has already been reported that Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, have been house-hunting in the DC-area. Kushner, despite being Trump’s son-in-law and it likely violating nepotism rules, has been discussed for a potential role in the Trump administration. However, with Ivanka stepping away from not only the Trump Organization but her own personal brands, is she also setting herself up for a role in the White House?

First off, if it is likely Kushner having a job in the administration violates nepotism rules, it is a given that Ivanka having any official role would be a complete infringement. In addition, what we may see is Ivanka serving as a sort-of First Lady to her father.

We already know that the President-elect’s wife Melania is planning on staying in New York for the time being while their young son Barron attends school. Therefore, that creates a bit of a vacancy when it comes to the traditional role of of First Lady in the White House. With Ivanka and her family residing in DC, and her husband potentially spending his workdays at the White House, this seems as good a theory as any.

Now, what should be noted here is that neither Donald nor Ivanka are looking to sell any of their business stakes. And nothing appears to be going into any real kind of ‘blind trust,’ either. More, it looks like the two grown Trump boys will handle all the decisions of the Trump Organization while the other two reside in DC.

Of course, we’ll hear more from Mr. Trump when he gives his much-anticipated news conference on December 15th where he’ll announced his intentions with his business interests. But it certainly looks like he’s just going to keep everything in the family, from both a business side and how he runs his administration.

[image via screengrab]

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Follow Justin Baragona on Twitter: @justinbaragona

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.