Reading Room Document

Applicability to President of Restriction on Employment of Relatives

This memo addresses whether the president can appoint a relative to a White House staff position, and attaches past OLC opinions dealing with the Federal anti-nepotism statute (5 U.S.C. § 3110). The memo reiterates the conclusion of those prior opinions that 5 U.S.C. 3110 is applicable to positions on the White House staff, but suggests that the statute may be unconstitutional if applied to block the appointment of Cabinet-level or high-ranking officials. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at https://justice.gov/olc/page/file/1009436/download.

November 14, 1972