Promoting Trump-Branded Products from the White House: Goya Beans, Ivanka's Fashion Line, and the Use of Official Office for Commercial Endorsement
Tier 3Documented2017-02-09 to 2020-07-15
Factual Summary
During Trump's first term, the president, his family members serving as senior advisers, and senior White House officials used official positions and government platforms to promote commercial products connected to the Trump brand or to the president's political allies. These actions violated federal ethics standards, including the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch, and in several cases were found by the Office of Special Counsel to violate the Hatch Act.
On February 9, 2017, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway appeared on Fox News from the White House briefing room and urged viewers to "go buy Ivanka's stuff." The statement came after Nordstrom had dropped Ivanka Trump's fashion line, a business decision that Trump had publicly attacked on Twitter. Conway's endorsement from the White House was widely characterized as a use of official position to promote a private commercial interest. The Office of Government Ethics stated that Conway's conduct violated 5 C.F.R. 2635.702, which prohibits executive branch employees from using their public office for the endorsement of any product, service, or enterprise. The White House stated that Conway had been "counseled" on the matter but did not discipline her.
Conway's conduct was part of a broader pattern. The Office of Special Counsel, the independent federal agency responsible for investigating Hatch Act complaints, ultimately identified more than 50 Hatch Act violations by Conway across her tenure. In June 2019, the OSC issued a formal report recommending that Conway be removed from federal service for "persistent, notorious, and deliberate Hatch Act violations." The House Committee on Oversight and Reform held a hearing in July 2019 titled "Violations of the Hatch Act Under the Trump Administration, Part II: Kellyanne Conway." Conway refused to testify, and the White House asserted that she was immune from compelled congressional testimony. She was not removed from her position.
In July 2020, after Goya Foods CEO Robert Unanue publicly praised Trump at a White House event, consumer boycott calls prompted a political response from the Trump family. Ivanka Trump, then serving as a senior adviser to the president, posted a photograph of herself holding a can of Goya beans alongside the brand's slogan, "If it's Goya, it has to be good." The post appeared on her official government social media accounts. Walter Shaub, the former director of the Office of Government Ethics, stated that the post violated federal ethics rules prohibiting government employees from endorsing products. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint.
Trump himself then posted a photograph on his Instagram account showing him in the Oval Office behind the Resolute Desk, grinning and giving a thumbs-up gesture, with an array of Goya products displayed on the desk in front of him. The image of a sitting president using the physical setting of the Oval Office to promote a commercial brand was without precedent in modern American history.
Throughout his presidency, Trump also used official social media accounts and public statements to promote his own properties, including the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., Mar-a-Lago, and various Trump golf courses. These promotions occurred through official presidential accounts and during official presidential events.
Primary Sources
1. Office of Special Counsel report on Kellyanne Conway Hatch Act violations, June 13, 2019
2. House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing: "Violations of the Hatch Act Under the Trump Administration, Part II: Kellyanne Conway," July 15, 2019
3. 5 C.F.R. 2635.702, Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch, prohibition on use of public office for private gain
4. Ivanka Trump social media post endorsing Goya products, July 15, 2020
5. Donald Trump Instagram post displaying Goya products on the Resolute Desk, July 2020
Corroborating Sources
1. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington: "Kellyanne Conway eclipses 50 Hatch Act violations on Twitter"
2. CBS News: "Kellyanne Conway: Hatch Act violations cited by Office of Special Counsel as federal watchdog recommends Trump advisor be removed from job," June 2019
3. The Washington Post: "Ivanka Trump defends Goya post that watchdogs call unethical," July 15, 2020
4. Law and Crime: "Ivanka Trump's Goya Tweet Was Likely Illegal," July 2020
5. House Oversight Committee hearing transcript, July 15, 2019
Counterarguments and Context
The White House argued that the Hatch Act's restrictions do not apply to the president and that senior advisers enjoy broad latitude in their public communications. Regarding Conway, the White House maintained that her comments were made in a personal capacity and that she was exercising her First Amendment rights. Trump dismissed the OSC's recommendation to remove Conway, stating, "It looks to me like they're trying to take away her right to free speech." On the Goya promotions, defenders argued that the president and his family were expressing support for a company whose CEO had been unfairly targeted by a politically motivated boycott and that displaying products on a desk does not constitute a formal government endorsement. The Hatch Act's applicability to the president personally is a subject of legal debate, as the statute's restrictions on political activity explicitly exempt the president and vice president. However, the ethics rules governing endorsements apply to White House staff, including senior advisers, and the OSC's finding of more than 50 violations by a single official reflects systemic disregard for the ethical framework governing executive branch employees.
Author's Note
The image of a president posing with commercial products on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office is significant not because it violates a specific criminal statute but because it represents the erasure of the boundary between public office and private commercial interest. The same desk used by presidents to sign legislation, address the nation during crises, and conduct the business of government was used for a product endorsement photograph. The OSC's recommendation that Conway be fired, which the president ignored, demonstrates that the enforcement mechanisms for executive branch ethics depend on presidential willingness to enforce them. When the president is the source of the violations and the only person with authority to impose consequences, the system has no remedy.