President-elect Donald TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE intends to keep a stake in his business, The New York Times reported, citing people briefed on the discussions.
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The president-elect plans to formally hand his two adult sons, Eric and Donald Jr., the operational responsibilities of his massive real estate company. But he is resisting calls to divest.
Trump’s elder daughter, Ivanka, would also leave the Trump Organization, the Times reported based on a plan now being considered by the Trump family and its lawyers.
Ivanka Trump is first looking into how to separate herself from her apparel and licensing brands and has plans to appoint a president of her company to take on the day-to-day operations.
The Trumps are reportedly talking about a “legal structure” so that both the president-elect and Ivanka Trump could separate from their companies.
Trump plans to hold a news conference next week to talk about “leaving my great business in total in order to fully focus on running the country.”
“While I am not mandated to do this under the law, I feel it is visually important, as President, to in no way have a conflict of interest with my various businesses,” Trump tweeted last month.
“Hence, legal documents are being crafted which take me completely out of business operations. The Presidency is a far more important task!”
Trump has been facing criticism recently over potential conflict of interests that could occur regarding his involvement in the Trump Organization while serving in the White House.
The Office of Government Ethics tweeted last week that it told the president-elect’s counsel it would “sing your praises if you divested.”
“As we discussed with your counsel, divestiture is the way to resolve these conflicts,” the office wrote on Twitter. “Bravo! Only way to resolve these conflicts of interest is to divest. Good call!”
Last month, the president-elect said in an interview with the Times that the law is on his side.
“The president can’t have a conflict of interest,” he said during the interview.
Still, some Republicans are dismissing criticism of how Trump will separate from his business.
Speaker Paul RyanPaul Davis RyanBush, Romney won’t support Trump reelection: NYT Twitter joins Democrats to boost mail-in voting — here’s why Lobbying world MORE (R-Wis.) on Wednesday said he is “confident” Trump will “get himself right with moving himself from the business guy that he is to the president he’s going to be.”
When he was asked how Trump should address the conflicts of interest, Ryan responded: “However he wants.”
Instead, the Speaker said he’s focused on the bigger issues facing the country.
A poll released Wednesday showed nearly 70 percent of Americans have no problem with Trump keeping his business.
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