House Oversight Leaders Join Forces to Press for Ethics Review of Conway���s Pro-Ivanka Comments

As reported by a variety of media outlets, including The Hill, Kellyanne Conway, Counselor to President Trump, is in some hot water over her comments Thursday morning on Fox News��� Fox & Friends program. In her eagerness to stick up for Ivanka Trump, whose clothing line was dropped by luxury department store Nordstrom, Conway said, ���Go buy Ivanka's stuff, is what I would tell you. I'm going to give it a free commercial here. Go buy it today.���

The well-intended, off-handed gesture may prove to be of some cost to Conway, who raised the hackles of two groups that regularly advocate for the public interest, Public Citizen and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Both groups filed complaints with the Office of Government Ethics (OGE).

At the core of the grievances is a perceived violation by Conway of federal regulations that read, ���An employee shall not use his public office for his own private gain, for the endorsement of any product, service or enterprise, or for the private gain of friends, relatives, or persons with whom the employee is affiliated in a nongovernmental capacity.���

Additionally, Conway���s remarks greatly displeased the two top dogs on the House Oversight Committee, Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and ranking Democrat Elijah Cummings (Md.). Chaffetz and Cummings are reportedly planning to send a joint letter to the OGE to request that the agency follow through on an ethics of review of Conway���s behavior.

Speaking with NBC News about Conway���s remarks, Chaffetz said, ���That was wrong, wrong, wrong. It is wholly unacceptable ��� no if, ands or buts about it.���

For his part, White House press secretary Sean Spicer somewhat tersely said to reporters at the daily press briefing that ���Kellyanne has been counseled, and that's all we are going to go with. She's been counseled on the subject, and that's it.���

Whether ���that���s it��� or not, however, remains to be seen.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large