Biden Makes It Clear He Won't Commit This Huge Trump Mistake

In their first interview together at the White House, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden on Wednesday discussed a bunch of topics, including marriage, prayer, family and the multitude of challenges facing the Biden administration.

In regard to family, the president made it very clear that he won't be commiting the same mistake that his predecessor, Donald Trump, made as POTUS. Simply put, Biden won't be appointing his children or grandchildren to any positions in the administration.

“We're going to run this like the Obama-Biden administration,” Biden said while speaking with People. “No one in our family and extended family is going to be involved in any government undertaking or foreign policy. And nobody has an office in this place.”

While in office, Trump appointed his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner as senior advisers, despite lacking experience in politics. They were given roles when it came to dealing with the coronavirus.

In the early months of the pandemic, Kushner was tasked with spearheading "Project Airbridge," which was launched to procure medical supplies and personal protective equipment for health care workers. He overlooked promising leads and turned toward a group of private-sector volunteers with little to no expertise on the matter.

American Oversight, a non-profit ethics watchdog, launched an investigation into Kushner's role in helping his personal associates and his family's companies to receive relief loans that were normally meant for struggling small businesses.

And early in the pandemic, Ivanka, who is an epidemiologist, decried lockdown measures even as the country hurtled toward 450,000 coronavirus-related deaths.

"These blanket lockdowns are not grounded in science. These arbitrary rules imposed by callous politicians are destroying lives. It is just wrong for small business owners to have fight so hard to keep their American dream alive," Ivanka had written on Twitter.

Both Ivanka and Jared were also given offices in the White House, and top-secret security clearances. Biden insisted his relatives will not be extended the same treatment.

“They always have access to Pop and Nana but nobody will have an office,” the president said.

Biden’s comments come after White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki warned businesses against saying they have the “president’s endorsement.” During Inauguration Day, a law firm employing Frank Biden, one of the president's brothers, ran an ad that touted Frank and Joe's relationship.

“For Christ’s sake, watch yourself,” said the president, who issued a warning to Frank, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. “Don’t get sucked into something that would, first of all, hurt you.”

The White House unveiled on Wednesday its ethics and transparency plans. The Biden administration’s disclosure efforts will include releasing staffers’ personal financial disclosure forms on March 19.

The forms will contain information such as a staffer’s assets, income and recent financial transactions. The information will be accessible to the public through an online form, a White House spokesperson told Axios.

Press secretary Psaki revealed that Biden’s White House will release visitor logs containing information of people who meet with the president and top administration officials.

Many ethics experts praised Biden’s early transparency and accountability measures, but some said they want even more.

Walt Shaub, a former director of the Office of Government Ethics, called for an online database for all legally operative ethics records.

“After what this country went through with Trump, they surely can see that we need transparency,” Shaub said.