An office but no official title
Ivanka Trump will get a security clearance and work out of the West Wing to be an advisor to her father.
WASHINGTON — Cementing her role as a powerful White House influence, Ivanka Trump is working out of a West Wing office and will get access to classified information, though she is not technically serving as a government employee, according to her attorney.
Since President Trump took office, his eldest daughter has been a visible presence in the White House, where her husband, Jared Kushner, serves as a senior advisor. On Friday, she participated in a meeting on vocational training with the president and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Jamie Gorelick, an attorney and ethics advisor for Ivanka Trump, said Monday that she would not have an official title but would get a West Wing office, government-issued communications devices and a security clearance to receive classified information. Gorelick said Trump would follow ethics rules that applied to government employees.
“Our view is that the conservative approach is for Ivanka to voluntarily comply with the rules that would apply if she were a government employee, even though she is not,” said Gorelick, who also helped Kushner with the legal strategy that led to his White House appointment. “The White House Counsel’s Office agrees with that approach.”
Ivanka Trump’s role has come under scrutiny because there is little precedent for a member of the first family to have this kind of influence. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
A person with knowledge of Ivanka Trump’s thinking, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations, said she believed she could offer a more independent perspective to her father by not serving as a White House staff member.
A popular surrogate for her father on the campaign trail, Ivanka Trump moved her young family to Washington at the start of the administration and signaled plans to work on economic issues, such as maternity leave and child care.
In a statement, she said, “I will continue to offer my father my candid advice and counsel, as I have for my entire life.”
Gorelick said the Justice Department made clear that the president could consult family members as private citizens, arguing that is what Ivanka Trump would be doing.