Politics

Donald Trump Says He's Shutting Down His Foundation

The president-elect has faced a wave of scrutiny over his potential conflicts of interest.

Donald Trump Says He's Shutting Down His Foundation
Getty Images
SMS

Donald Trump might be shutting down his foundation.

The New York Times reports Trump and his aides are planning to shutter the charity and look into hiring an outside party to oversee his various businesses.

The president-elect has faced a wave of scrutiny over his potential conflicts of interest — critics say his vast business holdings could lead to outside pressure while he tries to run the country.

The Trump Foundation in particular has faced scrutiny. In October, the New York attorney general's office ordered the foundation to stop soliciting donations. According to the notice, the foundation had not registered with the state's charities bureau. 

If The New York Times report is true, it's a pretty big deal. Trump still publicly maintains that no legal conflicts of interest exist.

Still, earlier this week Eric Trump announced he would stop soliciting funds for his charitable foundation. The younger Trump said he recognizes donors could use his position to influence his father.

So far there is no indication that Trump will fully divest himself from his companies and put his money in a blind trust. The Times does say that other measures are currently in the works, including a search for outsiders to oversee the Ivanka Trump brand and Trump Organization.