Senate

Dems press White House on Jared Kushner’s financial holdings

by Jordain Carney - 03/08/17 6:35 PM ET

Congressional Democrats want the White House to hand over details of how senior Trump adviser Jared Kushner is following financial conflict of interest rules.

Democrats sent a letter to Stefan Passantino—a deputy counsel and the White House’s designated agency ethics official—asking how the Office of Counsel “plans to monitor and ensure” President Trump’s son-in-law’s “compliance with federal conflict of interest laws.”

“Federal conflict of interest laws prohibit a federal official, such as Mr. Kushner, from profiting off of his government work,” Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Tom Carper (Del.) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) wrote in the letter.

While Kushner is not collecting a salary for his work at the White House, the letter points to a ProPublica report that said Kushner will keep some of his real estate holdings.

A White House spokesperson declined to detail what assets Kushner is giving up and which he is keeping, according to the late February report.

The members of Congress requested answers to a series of questions about Kushner’s assets and his recusal plan, and how the Office of the White House Counsel plans to monitor his compliance with conflict-of-interest laws.

The Democratic lawmakers note that “the status of financial holdings of Mr. Kushner’s wife, Ivanka Trump, also remain unclear.”

The lawmakers are asking Passantino to hand over details by Mach 14.

In addition to wanting to know which assets Kushner has shed since joining the White House, they want details on what guidance White House counsel is giving Kushner on when he will need to recuse himself.

They also want to know if Kushner has already recused himself on any issues, if needs to get a “regulatory exemption” to work on matters that brush up against his financial interests, and how Ivanka Trump’s holdings will govern if or when he needs to step back from an issue.

Tags Elizabeth Warren Tom Carper