Donald Trump names son-in-law as White House senior adviser
- America's President-elect Donald Trump has appointed his son-in-law Jared Kushne as a senior adviser
-The appointment has however drawn sharp criticism from democrats across the country
-The appointment is alleged to be against the nepotism rule signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1967
America's President-elect Donald Trump has appointed his son-in-law Jared Kushne as a senior adviser and drawn the anger of Democrats who have condemned the move.
They say that Trump's action is against the nepotism rule signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1967 which prevents public officials in America from promoting a relative "to a civilian position in the agency in which he is serving or over which he exercises jurisdiction or control".
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CNN reports that within hours of the appointment, Democrats in House Judiciary Committee issued a statement, asking Justice Department and the Office of Government Ethics to appraise the appointment's legality in light of the anti-nepotism law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1967.
John Conyers, the House Judiciary Committee's ranking member, and other top Democrats on the committee, in a statement released on Monday, January 9 evening, said: "There is a strong case to be made that the White House is an "agency" for purposes of the anti-nepotism statute and that it would apply to bar Mr. Kushner's appointment as a White House staff member."
Kushner's attorney Jamie Gorelick however told CNN that the statute is open to different interpretations. He also argued that Kushne plans to excuse himself from "particular matters that would have a direct and predictable effect on his remaining financial interests.”
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"He will also abide by federal rules requiring impartiality in particular matters involving specific parties. These steps are consistent with federal law and executive branch practice and evidence Mr. Kushner's commitment to public service."
On the other hand, Larry Noble, general counsel of the Campaign Legal Center and CNN consultant, noted that Kushner may be qualified but the problem is that he is a relative of the president-elect.
He said: "A classic abuse of hiring authority is hiring your own relatives."
According to him, if he was asked to advice Trump, his advice would be: "Follow the anti-nepotism laws, they are meant to apply to the President. The point of the statute was to stop the President from hiring relatives, including son-in-laws."
Meanwhile, outgoing president of America Barack Obama advised US president-elect Donald Trump to avoid managing the country’s affair like a family business.
According to him, the president-elect must understand the difference between campaigning and leading a country.
Source: Legit.ng
