Ivanka Trump pulls the plug on namesake fashion brand
Ivanka Trump, President Donald Trump’s eldest daughter and a top White House adviser, is shutting down her namesake fashion brand more than a year after stepping away from the company.
A spokesperson for Ivanka Trump’s brand confirmed Tuesday that the process of winding down the company would begin immediately, that the brand’s licensing deals would not be renewed and that employees would depart in the coming weeks.
“After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington, so making this decision now is the only fair outcome for my team and part- ners,” Trump said in a statement. Since Donald Trump won the presidential election in 2016, members of his family have faced continuing criticism that they are exploiting his position to promote their own personal interests.
Ivanka Trump has been a particular target of that criticism and resigned from the day-today operations of the company last year, partly to try to address concerns that her role as a presidential adviser created conflicts of interest.
Although Trump took steps to separate herself from the company’s management, she retained a financial interest in the business through a trust. Her financial disclosures filings show that she earned more than $5 million from that entity last year.
The trust arrangement also called for Trump to approve major decisions made by the company, including striking new licensing partnerships and overseas deals. The provision prompted questions about whether Trump had put enough distance between herself and her financial interests.
In a statement Tuesday, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, a Washington group that has been especially vocal in expressing concern about the Trump family’s blurring of business interests and government work, offered muted approval for Trump’s move.
“While this is a notable step in the right direction, it’s a small one that comes much too late,” the statement said, adding that Trump had “reportedly realized that there were too many potential conflicts of interest to avoid, something many observers warned about.”