Ivanka Trump’s Goya Endorsement Might Violate Ethical Standards for Federal Employees

Ivanka Trump endorses Goya Foods, prompting ethical concerns

Nearly a week after the CEO of Goya Foods said that “we’re all truly blessed” to have Donald Trump as president, the controversy-turned-proxy culture war is still going strong. Progressive politicians and consumers called for a boycott; conservative figures called the boycott an attempt to “silence free speech” and urged supporters to buy even more of the company’s Hispanic food staples. And last night, the First Daughter herself waded into the mess, tweeting a photo of herself holding up a can of Goya black beans, accompanied by the caption (in both English and Spanish): “If it’s Goya, it has to be good.”

As multiple outlets have pointed out, Ivanka Trump’s blatant, bilingual promotion of Goya may be a violation of ethical standards for federal employees (of which Ivanka Trump is one, technically, serving as an advisor to the president). Per the Department of Justice:

An employee may not use his public office for his own private gain or for that of persons or organizations with which he is associated personally. An employee’s position or title should not be used to coerce; to endorse any product, service or enterprise; or to give the appearance of governmental sanction.

But the Trump administration has not been particularly stringent about enforcing federal ethical standards. Previous ethically dubious endorsements include Kellyanne Conway telling Fox News viewers to “go buy Ivanka’s stuff” in 2017, and Donald Trump’s 2019 suggestion of his own resort as the location for the next G-7 summit, as Intelligencer notes. Just add Ivanka Trump’s dead-eyed Goya photo to the long list of infractions.

And in other news…

• The cost of food rose in June for the sixth-straight month, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. [NBC News]
• Food and Drug Administration on-site inspections will resume next week after a temporary suspension due to the pandemic. [Food Safety News]
• Based on historical data from the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest and months of mathematical analysis, here is the maximum number of hot dogs that a human could eat in 10 minutes: 83. Thank you, science! [NYT]
• Some TikTok teens are dressing up as mask-wearing elderly women so they can buy alcohol. Children are our future etc. [NY Post]
• Making the oily cakes from the film First Cow. [Vulture]

• All AM Intel Coverage [E]