REUTERS/Jim Bourg
Ivanka Trump will begin working from a White House office, despite previously stating that she would not take a formal role in her father’s administration, Politico reports. Trump’s new West Wing office will be located on the second floor, next to that of senior adviser Dina Powell. Trump’s new unofficial position will come with a government-issued phone, and Trump is in the process of obtaining security clearance, Politico reports. Her new proximity to the Oval Office raises questions about her involvement in the White House and the potential conflicts of interest with her own business ventures. Her attorney, Jamie Gorelick, told Politico that Trump would advise her father on a range of unspecified issues and that she would serve as the president’s “eyes and ears.” But because of Trump’s lack of an official position or salary, her ethical obligations in the new office are unclear. Gorelick told Politico that Trump would “voluntarily comply with the rules that would apply if she were a government employee, even though she is not.”