Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, infamously endorsed Ivanka Trump’s clothing line live on Fox News on Feb. 9. | AP Photo Ethics office remains ‘concerned’ about Conway’s endorsement of Ivanka’s business

The chairman of the Office of Government Ethics said the office remains concerned about Kellyanne Conway’s “misuse of position” to promote Ivanka Trump’s products and the White House’s decision not to discipline to her.

“Not taking disciplinary action against a senior official under such circumstances risks undermining the ethics program,” Chairman Walter Shaub wrote in a letter to Stefan Passantino, deputy counsel to the president.


Conway, counselor to the president, infamously endorsed Ivanka’s clothing line live on Fox News Feb. 9 soon after department store Nordstrom announced it was dropping the line.

“It’s a wonderful line. I own some of it,” she said. “I fully — I’m going to give a free commercial here. Go buy it today, everybody. You can find it online.”

Shaub, responding to an earlier letter from Passantino, also criticized the White House’s “extraordinary assertion” that many OGE regulations are not applicable to employees in the Executive Office of the President. Previous administrations have not found it “appropriate” to question the OGE’s authority, he wrote.

“The assertion is incorrect, and the letter cites no legal basis for it,” he wrote. “It is critical to the public's faith in the integrity of government that White House employees be held to the same standard of ethical accountability as other executive branch employees.”

The OGE does not have the jurisdiction to take disciplinary action against any executive branch employees who are not OGE employees. In a separate letter to House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz and ranking member Elijah Cummings, Shaub explained when an agency declines to take action, the only other step the OGE can take is to notify the president.

“In this case, however, the White House's response makes clear that disciplinary action will not be taken,” he wrote.