Even though I am not mandated by law to do so, I will be leaving my busineses before January 20th so that I can focus full time on the......
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2016
Presidency. Two of my children, Don and Eric, plus executives, will manage them. No new deals will be done during my term(s) in office.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2016
President-elect Donald Trump says he plans to leave two of his children — Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump — in charge of his businesses.
He also says "no new deals will be done" while he is in office.
The statements were released via Twitter late Monday night. Trump has previously said he planned to leave his companies in the hands of his three oldest children — now, he appears to be suggesting Ivanka will be stepping back from the family business as well.
Keeping the companies in the family could create unprecedented conflicts of interest, analysts say.
Trump was set to hold a news conference this week to explain how, exactly, he would address potential conflicts of interest. He canceled the press conference and rescheduled it for January.
His tweets amounted to the following statement:
"Even though I am not mandated by law to do so, I will be leaving my busineses [sic] before January 20th so that I can focus full time on the ... Presidency. Two of my children, Don and Eric, plus executives, will manage them. No new deals will be done during my term(s) in office."
In a subsequent tweet, the president-elect tacitly acknowledged that he had rescheduled the planned news conference, tweeting "Busy times!"
As NPR has reported, laws that bar conflicts of interest in the executive branch do not apply to the president or vice president. But modern presidents have put their assets in blind trusts to avoid conflicts.
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