Conway: Trump ‘supports me 100 percent’

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway is not apologizing for hawking Ivanka Trump’s merchandise on cable news, even as the House Oversight Committee floats disciplinary action against her.

In a Fox News interview on Thursday night, Conway was asked to comment on blowback for her remarks earlier in the day, which led to accusations she had broken a regulation that prohibits government officials from endorsing products.
 
House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) has asked the Office of Government Ethics for guidance on how to respond to Conway’s remarks, which he described as “over the line” and “unacceptable.”

{mosads}“We’re aware of that letter and reviewing it internally,” Conway said. “I’m just very happy I spent a lot of time with the president this afternoon and that he supports me 100 percent.”

Conway was asked by Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum if President Trump had considered suspending her.

“We spoke about a range of matters and he supports me 100 percent, in fact it was a very heartening moment,” she responded. “All I can say to America’s women is at some point in your life you ought to have a boss who treats you the way the president treated me today.”

Earlier in the day, White House press secretary Sean Spicer appeared to indicate that Conway had been reprimanded for her remarks.

“Kellyanne has been counseled, and that’s all we are going to go with,” Spicer told reporters at the daily press briefing. “She’s been counseled on the subject, and that’s it.”

Spicer’s statement came amid furious blowback from Democrats, who have cited Conway’s remarks as an example of the first family seeking to profit off of the White House.

Last week, the department store Nordstrom announced it would stop selling Ivanka Trump’s line of clothing and accessories, citing low sales figures.

Trump responded over Twitter on Wednesday, complaining that his daughter was being treated “unfairly” by the company. Donald Trump Jr. tweeted that consumers should “cut up” their Nordstrom cards and called for a boycott of the company.



Spicer accused Nordstrom of “targeting” Ivanka Trump for her father’s political views and said it was natural for the family to rally around one of their own.


But Conway went further in a Thursday interview on Fox News, urging consumers to purchase Trump’s product line.



“Go buy Ivanka’s stuff, is what I would tell you … I hate shopping but I’m going to go get some for myself today,” Conway said. “I’m going to give it a free commercial here, go buy it today.”

The liberal group Citizens for Responsible Ethics in Washington quickly filed a complaint with the OGE, calling Conway’s remarks “an apparent violation of federal law, ethics regulations and other standards of conduct” involving government officials using their office for financial gain.

Chaffetz and Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md.), the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, followed with a letter to the OGE asking the agency to recommend disciplinary action for Conway.

“Conway’s statements clearly violate the ethical principles for federal employees and are unacceptable,” the letter says. “The White House’s reported decision to counsel Conway supports this decision.”