A top White House aide on Thursday promoted the clothing line named after President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka, drawing criticism from ethics experts one day after the president attacked a retailer for dropping her products.
Kellyanne Conway, left, has been "counseled" by the White House after telling people to "Go buy Ivanka's stuff". Photo: AFP
Earlier this week Mr Trump publicly attacked department store chain Nordstrom for dropping his daughter's products, in a highly unusual move that drew criticism for his use of a White House twitter platform to intervene in a commercial matter.
"Go buy Ivanka's stuff ... I'm going to go get some myself today," Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway told Fox News in an interview from the White House. "I'm going to give a free commercial here: Go buy it today, everybody."
Norman Eisen, who served as an ethics adviser to Democratic President Barack Obama, said Ms Conway's comments amounted to an advertisement and violated government ethics law.
"It's a violation of the rule," Eisen told MSNBC. "It's a serious matter."
Former Office of Government Ethics chief Don Fox told the Washington Post Conway's comments appeared to violate rules barring the use of public office for anyone's private gain.
The White House later said Ms Conway had been 'counseled' after her remarks.
Ivanka Trump has said she would step away from her company when her father took office in the White House. A spokeswoman for the Ivanka Trump brand declined to comment.
- Reuters