On Friday’s “PBS NewsHour,” New York Times columnist David Brooks stated that he was bothered by the “intermingling of the business and the public service” with President-Elect Donald Trump’s family and its role in his administration, but “if the family members choose one side or the other, I would have no problem with Ivanka serving on the White House staff,” and that the rule forbidding family members from serving in the Cabinet is a “dumb rule.”
Brooks said, “Well, what does bother me is the intermingling of the business and the public service aspect of this. And so I do agree with that. But I do think, if the family members choose one side or the other, I would have no problem with Ivanka serving on the White House staff, frankly. But there’s a rule against it now, in theory, serving in the Cabinet, at least, maybe not in the White House, that was passed after Bobby Kennedy. I personally think that’s a dumb rule. If a president wants to have a family member, as an executive of a small business can have a family member. I don’t have a problem with that. I actually think Ivanka would be a good influence on the administration. But I do think as long as the — he’s so business-minded. As long as we’re constantly asking about, is he trying to make a buck off this, is he trying to promote his hotel with this? Then that’s just a corruption of what we think of as public service.”
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