President Trump’s senior aide Kellyanne Conway promoted Ivanka Trump’s products on live TV.
Earlier this month, Nordstrom dropped Ivanka Trump’s clothing line, citing a lack of sales.
However, Kellyanne Conway told Fox News on February 9: “Go buy Ivanka’s stuff.”
Jason Chaffetz, a Republican who heads the oversight committee in Congress, said the promotion was “clearly over the line, unacceptable”.
Federal ethics rules prevent White House employees giving an “endorsement of any product, service or enterprise”.
Jason Chaffetz said the White House should notify the Office of Government Ethics so it could initiate an inquiry. There have been numerous concerns over possible conflicts of interest for White House staff.
Image source Nordstrom
He said he and his Democratic counterpart would write to President Donald Trump.
Nordstrom became the fifth retailer to drop the Ivanka Trump clothing line, citing lack of sales.
The move comes amid a boycott of all Trump products, which activists have dubbed #GrabYourWallet, in reference to a 2005 comment Donald Trump made about women’s bodies.
Nordstrom said the decision was based on the brand’s performance, which is what the company repeated on February 8: “Sales of the brand have steadily declined to the point where it didn’t make good business sense for us to continue with the line for now.”
The company added that Ivanka Trump was personally informed of the decision in early January.
Nordstrom shares briefly fell 0.7%, before rising later in the day.
Ivanka Trump does not have a fixed role in the White House, but has been a regular fixture since her father’s inauguration.
Her husband, Jared Kushner, is a key Trump adviser.
Ivanka Trump gave up operating control – but not ownership – of her businesses after her father’s election.
President Donald Trump has come under Democrats’ fire after attacking Nordstrom for dropping a fashion line owned by his daughter, Ivanka.
Donald Trump tweeted that “Ivanka has been treated so unfairly” by the clothing retailer.
A Democratic senator called the post “inappropriate” and an ex-White House ethics tsar dubbed it “outrageous”.
Earlier this month Nordstrom became the fifth retailer to drop Ivanka Trump’s clothing line, citing lack of sales.
The move comes amid a boycott of all Trump products, which activists have dubbed #GrabYourWallet, in reference to a 2005 comment Donald Trump made about women’s bodies.
A spokesman for Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey said the senator “feels it is unethical and inappropriate for the president to lash out at a private company for refusing to enrich his family”.
Image source Nordstrom
Norm Eisen, who served as ethics tsar under President Barack Obama, called the move “outrageous” and advised Nordstrom to sue Donald Trump under the California Unfair Competition Law.
The White House has played down the row and press spokesman Sean Spicer said that Nordstrom’s decision was political, and the president was simply reacting to “an attack” on his daughter.
During the daily press briefing, Sean Spicer said: “This is a direct attack on his policies and her name and so there’s clearly an attempt for [the president] to stand up for her being maligned because they have a problem with his policies.”
Nordstrom has yet to respond to the recent tweet, but have said previously that the decision to drop the Ivanka Trump line was “based on the brand’s performance”.
The tweet, which was sent by President Trump’s @realDonaldTrump account was then re-tweeted by the official @POTUS account.
Shares in the retailer fell 0.7%, before rallying slightly by midday.
Earlier this week, First Lady Melania Trump came under fire after she re-filed a lawsuit against the Daily Mail over false allegations that she once worked as an escort.
Melania Trump’s lawyers accused the news website of trying to deny her a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to profit from her position as “one of the most photographed women in the world”.
Critics accused Melania Trump of improperly seeking to profit financially from her White House position. The first lady is seeking damages of $150 million.
Ivanka Trump’s clothing line was dropped by Nordstrom after poor sales, the retailer said
The move comes after campaigners called for a boycott on stores doing business with the president’s family.
However, Nordstrom blames the move on poor sales.
The company says it makes “buying decisions based on performance” and that cutting brands “is part of the regular rhythm of our business”.
“Like with everything we buy, we make decisions season by season. In this case, we’ve decided not to buy it,” Nordstrom said.
Ivanka Trump, who works as an adviser to President Trump, licenses her name to branded products including shoes, handbags and clothing.
Donald Trump’s daughter also designs and sells jewellery.
Image source Nordstrom
The #GrabYourWallet campaign urged customers to boycott companies which have supported the Trumps.
The campaign was started by two women angry about the president’s comments about women which came out in October.
Co-founder Shannon Coulter reacted on Twitter, saying: “Big news everyone. You did this. I am in awe #GrabYourWallet.
“Those who voted against Donald control $7 trillion in spending.
“Never forget it. Never forget our power. Together, we can change a lot.”
The campaign’s website lists companies it supports boycotting and reasons they’re linked to Donald Trump.
On the Nordstrom’s website on February 3, the only Ivanka Trump items available were four styles of shoe, all reduced.
Ivanka Trump first launched her footwear range in 2011.
That line was cancelled by Canadian retailer, Shoes.com, in November and Ivanka Trump’s designs have now been dropped by interior decor store Bellacor as well.
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