President-elect Trump meets with his Indian business partners.
Credit: New York Magazine

Donald Trump’s new hires should brace themselves for a full immersion in government ethics school.

They’re going to need it given the president-elect’s sprawling business empire and his lack of interest in selling off his companies and properties outright.

The Republican’s appointees will be running departments and agencies with direct ties to their boss’ businesses and wider political interests, from an IRS audit into his tax records to National Labor Relations Board enforcement of cases involving his hotel workers to the FBI’s investigation into the suspected Russian cyberespionage aimed at influencing an election that Trump just won.

Unlike past presidents who took office with considerable wealth, from George H.W. Bush to John F. Kennedy, the setup Trump is creating for his financial assets — leaving his three oldest adult children and a “team of highly skilled executives” in charge while he’s in the Oval Office — appears likely to expose large numbers of people the president hires […]