Media reports and public statements from critics

Trump Organization's Ethics Plan for Second Term Limits President-Elect's Involvement, Appoints William Burck

Jan 10, 2025, 08:34 PM

The Trump Organization has announced a new ethics plan for Donald Trump's second term as president, which aims to limit his involvement in the management of the family business. Under this plan, Trump will not participate in day-to-day management decisions and will have limited access to the company's financial information, restricted to general business updates. His investments will be managed by outside financial institutions, which will not seek his input on specific holdings or transactions. The company has also appointed William Burck, a partner at Quinn Emanuel LLP, as its outside ethics advisor to ensure compliance with ethical standards. Eric Trump, the company's executive vice president, stated that the Trump Organization is dedicated to not just meeting but vastly exceeding its legal and ethical obligations during his father's presidency. The plan prohibits new material transactions or contracts with foreign governments, except for ordinary course transactions, but does not explicitly ban new deals with foreign private entities, marking a change from the first term policy when the Trump Organization had committed to avoiding new foreign deals altogether. Critics have noted that this new policy may leave room for potential conflicts of interest, particularly with regards to foreign business transactions.