Yesterday I wrote I hope Trump makes Ivanka acting UN ambassador, I love the way he says nepotism.
Summary:
- It would be the ultimate in rub it in your face chutzpa for Trump to even try some legal maneuver to appoint his daughter to the number one American ambassadorship, the only U.S. ambassador who is a Cabinet member. Who knows, he might try to make it an “acting ambassador” appointment and drag it out until 2022.
- The liberal press would go crazy. He’d love it.
- What’s wrong with a little more nepotism he’d no doubt think? After all, he already has the favorite daughter and her husband as top advisors and Donnie Jr. and Eric as gofers. After all that Ivanka has done for Daddy, why not promote her with a real title and a job that could position her to actually run for president someday.
- It’s the Fred Trump way. From Fred to Donald to Ivanka, it would be a dynasty made in Heavin or Hell depending on one’s political leaning. Passing the keys to the kingdom to Ivanka, what could be better?
- Whether he does it or not, there’s lots of time to for him to milk the anticipation for all it’s worth.
I was looking into the actual law that makes presidential nepotism illegal and found a relevant pop culture reference.
It’s a 2015 Washington Post story, Frank Underwood Finally Goes Too Far? It’s about Frank Underwood, the president played by Kevin Spacey in “House of Cards” who was considering making his wife, Claire, UN ambassador. The last paragraph explains the reach of the law, which as you see rules out Jared Kushner.
But this season they’ve gone just too far. (Spoiler alert!) President Frank Underwood’s nomination of first lady Claire to be ambassador to the United Nations could never have happened. That’s because it’s illegal.
Yes, murder’s generally not legal, either, but our understanding is this nomination is specifically barred by the Postal Revenue and Federal Salary Act of 1967, which is called the Bobby Kennedy law because a section was passed in response to President Kennedy’s appointment of his brother as U.S. attorney general.
The language is both clear and sweeping: It says “a public official …(including the President …) may not appoint, promote [or] advance” a relative in an agency . . . “over which he exercises jurisdiction or control…”
The law defines “relative” as a “father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, first cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, or half sister.” (The drafters clearly were unhappy with Bobby Kennedy’s appointment.)
What is still unclear to me is whether there is a loophole for appointing an unpaid acting UN ambassador in the law against nepotism. We know how the Trump family loves to exploit loopholes. Here are two sections that might be used to justify appointing Ivanka.
(c)
An individual appointed, employed, promoted, or advanced in violation of this section is not entitled to pay, and money may not be paid from the Treasury as pay to an individual so appointed, employed, promoted, or advanced.
Does this suggest that the law anticipates a violation and makes a provision for it happening? Could he get around it by not having Ivanka get a salary?
(d)
The Office of Personnel Management may prescribe regulations authorizing the temporary
employment, in the event of emergencies resulting from natural disasters or similar unforeseen events or circumstances, of individuals whose
employment would otherwise be prohibited by this section.
Could Trump declare that his being unable to find a non-relative to appoint was an unforeseen circumstance similar to a natural disaster, for example an international crisis he created?
All of this is rampantly absurd speculation about Ivanka who says she wouldn't even want the job if it was possible to get it. I don’t think Jared has weighed in on whether he’d be interested.
Still, with Trumpworld, you never know. With Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court if the case ended up there you predict an outcome at your own peril.