President Trump went to war Wednesday with Nordstrom, the department store, over its decision to stop carrying his daughter Ivanka’s line of branded apparel. And it appears Nordstrom won, with the company’s stock up almost 5 percent on the day. 
 
 In today's battle of Trump vs @Nordstrom, Nordstrom is the overwhelming winner: shares up nearly 5% at the closing bell pic.twitter.com/hne3FFpv8j — Joshua Green (@JoshuaGreen) February 8, 2017 
 
 The saga began way back on February 2, when a spokesperson for Nordstrom rather blandly confirmed to Racked that Ivanka’s clothing was disappearing from stores: “Based on the brand’s performance, we’ve decided not to buy it for this season.�? 
 
 The president ignored this issue for almost an entire week. Then Wednesday morning, according to the White House’s official schedule, he received his daily intelligence briefing at 10:30 am. There clearly wasn’t much urgent national security business to transact, because by 10:51 am he was focused on the threat to his daughter’s brand licensing business. 
 
 My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person -- always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 8, 2017 
 
 Shortly thereafter, your hard-earned tax dollars went to work pursuing the first family’s vendetta against a retailer that scorned them, with the staff-run @POTUS account retweeting the president and White House press secretary Sean Spicer continuing the charge at the daily press briefing. 
 
 Nordstrom’s move, according to Spicer, was not a business decision based on the sales of Ivanka’s line at all. It was, rather, a “direct attack�? on Trump administration policy in a manner that is “not acceptable.�? 
 
 Sean Spicer on Nordstrom re: POTUS and Ivanka: "This is a direct attack on his policies and her name." — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) February 8, 2017 
 
 Trump has previously depressed the stock prices of private companies by tweeting negative things about them in a manner that perhaps suggested forthcoming retaliation on the part of the federal government. But most companies have found their share prices bouncing back rapidly. In Nordstrom’s case, the dip lasted less than an hour, and over the course of the day, shares surged. 
 
 That may be a total coincidence, or it may be that investors are anticipating a surge of new sales at the retailer thanks to the massive amount of free publicity Trump garnered for their store, or the way that doing battle with an unpopular president could boost its profile in the large metropolitan areas where most of its stores are located. 
 
 In a possibly related development, T.J. Maxx also announced today that it is dropping Ivanka’s line, but no presidential tweets on this yet. ||||| poster="http://v.politico.com/images/1155968404/201702/2333/1155968404_5317511643001_5317498399001-vs.jpg?pubId=1155968404" true Kellyanne Conway under fire for promoting Ivanka's brand White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Conway had 'been counseled on that subject, and that's it.' 
 
 Kellyanne Conway used her platform Thursday to urge Americans to “go buy Ivanka’s stuff,” prompting a wave of backlash for potentially violating ethics rules governing the executive branch. 
 
 Standing in the White House press briefing room, Conway, a counselor to the president, encouraged Americans to purchase Ivanka Trump’s products, one day after President Donald Trump himself lashed out at the luxury retailer Nordstrom for dropping his daughter’s clothing line. 
 
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 “It’s a wonderful line. I own some of it,” Conway told “Fox & Friends.” “I fully — I’m going to give a free commercial here. Go buy it today, everybody. You can find it online.” 
 
 Conway’s remark appears to violate the executive branch’s ban on staff endorsing products or companies. The regulation, from the Office of Government Ethics, also prohibits using public office for private gain of oneself or friends or relatives. 
 
 Under the regulation, OGE’s director can notify the employee of the violation and ask the agency to investigate. The director can recommend discipline, including suspension, loss of pay or termination, but would probably just issue a warning for a first offense. 
 
 Conway said Thursday night on Fox News that she had spoken with the president about the controversy and said it was a “very heartening moment.” 
 
 “I am just really happy that I spent an awful lot of time of the president of the United States this afternoon and that he supports me 100 percent,” she said. 
 
 At his daily briefing, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Conway had "been counseled on that subject, and that's it," declining to further elaborate on whether the White House believed the counselor to the president had crossed a line. 
 
 But lawmakers suggested that it did. Reps. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the chairman and ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, respectively, wrote in a letter to OGE Director Walter Shaub that Conway’s interview “raised extremely serious concerns.” 
 
 “As the director of OGE, you have authority to review potential ethics violations and notify the employee’s agency, which in this case is the White House,” they said. “In this case, there is an additional challenge, which is that the President, as the ultimate disciplinary authority for White House employees, has an inherent conflict of interest since Conway’s statements relate to his daughter’s private business.” 
 
 They asked that OGE “review Conway’s statement and act promptly on the basis of your findings,” as well as report back to the House panel with a recommendation for disciplinary action, if necessary. 
 
 Cummings earlier Thursday had said in a letter to Chaffetz, “This appears to be a textbook violation of government ethics laws and regulations enacted to prevent the abuse of an employee’s government position,” and asked for a committee “review and potential disciplinary action.” 
 
 Chaffetz seemed to agree, telling The Associated Press that Conway’s remark was “wrong, wrong, wrong, clearly over the line, unacceptable.” 
 
 "It needs to be dealt with," Chaffetz had said. "There's no ifs, ands or buts about it." 
 
 A host of liberal, progressive and nonpartisan advocacy groups filed complaints against Conway, including the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which filed its complaint with both OGE and the White House Counsel’s Office. 
 
 “Ms. Conway appears to have violated both the letter and the spirit of these rules when she used her position to endorse the accessories and clothing line of Ms. Trump, the daughter of the president,” the CREW complaint says. “Furthermore, we are concerned about what appears to be a pattern developing of the use of official offices, particularly the White House and the Executive Office of the President, to benefit business interests of relatives and supporters of the president; Ms. Conway’s comments appear to be just the latest example of this trend.” 
 
 Ordinarily, a violation in the White House would be dealt with by the White House counsel. But it’s not clear how the regulation will be enforced under a president who, based on his own statement Wednesday, seems likely to approve of what Conway said. (The president himself is technically exempt from the regulation, but White House policy has long applied it to him.) 
 
 Likely sparked by Conway's remark, web traffic to the OGE's website surged Thursday to the point that it became inaccessible for much of the day. On Twitter, the office wrote that "OGE’s website, phone system and email system are receiving an extraordinary volume of contacts from citizens about recent events.” The office later added that it "does not have investigative or enforcement authority.” 
 
 An OGE spokesman said the agency was "looking at ways to redirect traffic and add capacity" to make its website accessible again. 
 
 Citing declining sales for Ivanka Trump’s label, Nordstrom announced earlier this month that it would no longer carry her line, a move that sparked anger from Donald Trump, who tweeted Wednesday that his daughter had “been treated so unfairly” by the department store. 
 
 Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, have been highly visible members of the administration since Donald Trump took office just under three weeks ago. The president’s daughter accompanied him to Dover Air Force Base last week for the return of the remains of a Navy SEAL killed during a raid in Yemen and has advised him on policy issues, including the environment and parental leave. 
 
 Conway told Fox News she found it “ironic that you’ve got some executives all over the internet bragging about what they’ve done to [Ivanka] and her line.” 
 
 “Yet, they’re using the most prominent woman in Donald Trump’s — you know, most prominent — she’s his daughter, and they’re using her, who has been a champion for women empowerment, women in the workplace, to get to him,” she continued. “I think people could see through that. Go buy Ivanka's stuff is what I would tell you. I hate shopping. I’m going to go get some myself today.” 
 
 While Nordstrom claimed that the decision to drop Ivanka Trump’s line of clothing and shoes was based solely on business, at least some of the decline in sales of her products could be attributed to the #GrabYourWallet campaign urging consumers to boycott Trump products. 
 
 Nordstrom also hasn’t shied away from voicing opposition to Trump’s policies, releasing a statement in support of immigrants in the wake of the president’s executive order temporarily banning individuals from certain Muslim-majority nations from entering the U.S. in the name of national security. The retailer announced its decision to drop Ivanka Trump’s line three days after releasing that statement. 
 
 On Fox News, Conway called Ivanka Trump a “very successful businesswoman” and an “incredibly confident, creative, talented woman” and indicated that should be welcomed into a role at the White House to work on women's empowerment issues, if she so chooses. 
 
 “Obviously, she’s stepped away from it now, but in the past she’s helped to run her family’s real estate empire, and on the side she developed another fully, unbelievably, entrepreneurial, wildly successful business that bears her name,” Conway added. “And I think she’s gone from 800 stores to 1,000 stores or 1,000 places where you can buy — you can certainly buy her goods online. She’s just at a very good place.” 
 
 Kyle Cheney contributed to this report. ||||| President Trump's adviser Kellyanne Conway was unrepentant Thursday night for using her White House position to promote first daughter Ivanka Trump's fashion brand, despite a backlash from ethics experts and public officials. 
 
 Her comment to "go buy Ivanka Trump stuff" was made from the White House Thursday morning while talking to Fox News. 
 
 The White House said later in the day that Conway had been "counseled" about the matter. 
 
 And in a remarkable rebuke to the White House, a bipartisan letter was sent to the Office of Government Ethics Thursday, asking that office to determine whether she should receive a stronger disciplinary response, including suspension, demotion or dismissal. 
 
 Conway appeared again on Fox Thursday evening and, when asked about the uproar, said, "I'm not going to comment on that... I have nothing more to say about it." She said that the president "supports me 100%." 
 
 "At some point, I hope American women work for a boss that treats them the way President Trump treated me today," Conway said. 
 
 Conway said that the White House is "aware of the letter" to the ethics office and is "reviewing it internally." 
 
 The letter was authored by Representative Elijah Cummings, a Democrat, and Jason Chaffetz, Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee. 
 
 It warned, "In this case, there is an additional challenge, which is that the President, as the ultimate disciplinary authority for the White House employees, has an inherent conflict of interest since Conway's statements relate to his daughter's private business." 
 
 "For this reason, we request that you use authority Congress granted to you...to 'recommend to [Trump] the appropriate disciplinary action (such as reprimand, suspension, demotion or dismissal) be brought against'" Conway. 
 
 A day earlier, the president had attacked Nordstrom department stores for dropping his daughter's line of clothing and accessories. 
 
 Ethics lawyers, lawmakers and government watchdog organizations called for investigations into Conway's endorsement, and suggested or said outright that she had violated government ethics law. 
 
 White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters that Conway has been "counseled on that subject, and that's it." He did not elaborate. 
 
 Conway was appearing on "Fox & Friends" when an interviewer raised the subject of Ivanka Trump. Conway praised the president's daughter as a "very successful businesswoman" and a "champion for women empowerment," and offered statistics about how many stores sell her merchandise. 
 
 "Go buy Ivanka's stuff, is what I would tell you," Conway said. "It's a wonderful line. I own some of it. I fully -- I'm going to just, I'm going to give a free commercial here: Go buy it today, everybody. You can find it online." 
 
 Related: Trump's Nordstrom blast retweeted by @POTUS 
 
 Federal law says that public employees may not use their positions "for the endorsement of any product, service or enterprise, or for the private gain of friends, relatives, or persons with whom the employee is affiliated in a nongovernmental capacity." 
 
 Cummings earlier called Conway's TV plug "a textbook violation of government ethics laws and regulations enacted to prevent the abuse of an employee's government position." Chaffetz did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 
 
 Larry Noble, the general counsel of the Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan organization of election law experts, said that in his opinion, Conway "may have violated the law." 
 
 An ethics group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, asked for the Office of Government Ethics and the White House counsel's office to look into the "apparent violation of law" and to "take any necessary discipline against her." 
 
 The Office of Government Ethics advises executive branch officials on how to avoid conflicts of interest. Its director harshly criticized Trump last month for his decision to not divest ownership of his business interests. 
 
 Related: Is Ivanka Trump's brand losing its bling? 
 
 The office did not return a request for comment, but it said in a series of tweets that it was fielding an "extraordinary volume" of phone calls, emails and web traffic from citizens in response to "recent events." 
 
 The ethics office stressed that it does not have enforcement power, like Congress or the FBI. When it learns of possible ethics violations, it said, it contacts the relevant agency and provides guidance. 
 
 1/OGE's website, phone system and email system are receiving an extraordinary volume of contacts from citizens about recent events. — U.S. OGE (@OfficeGovEthics) February 9, 2017 
 
 Richard Painter, who served as chief ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration, said he would not address whether any White House official was violating the law. 
 
 But he said public officials, when giving speeches or interviews in an official capacity, may not promote the products of "a particular private business belonging to the employee's own family, the President's family, a friend, a campaign contributor or anyone else." 
 
 "That was strictly forbidden in the Bush administration because it is illegal," he said. 
 
 Stan Brand, a former chief legal officer for the House of Representatives, said that Conway's endorsement appeared to be "technically a violation." 
 
 He suggested it was doubtful that any law enforcement official would pursue "a single statement like this," but he said "a pattern or practice of such conduct could become a problem." 
 
 Related: Nordstrom stock defies Trump 
 
 Nordstrom said last week that it would no longer carry Ivanka Trump's line of clothing ando accessories because of "brand performance." An online campaign called #GrabYourWallet has encouraged shoppers to boycott Ivanka Trump merchandise. 
 
 In addition, the company that owns TJ Maxx and Marshalls said that it recently sent a memo to workers instructing them not to highlight the Ivanka Trump brand in stores. It did not provide a reason for those instructions. 
 
 And the Belk department store chain said it plans to pull Ivanka Trump products from its website, but will continue to offer them in stores. Belk said the decision was a response to customer feedback. 
 
 On Wednesday, Trump tore into Nordstrom for mistreating his daughter. 
 
 "My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person -- always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!" he tweeted. 
 
 The message was retweeted by the official presidential Twitter account, @POTUS, and raised eyebrows among ethics lawyers. 
 
 Noble said the president's tweet was "totally out of line." 
 
 Related: Ethics office swamped with calls after Conway plugs Ivanka Trump line 
 
 "He should not be promoting his daughter's line, he should not be attacking a company that has business dealings with his daughter, and it just shows the massive amount of problems we have with his business holdings and his family's business holdings," Noble said Wednesday. 
 
 The rules on endorsements by public officials exempt the president and vice president. 
 
 Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, defended the president's use of the @POTUS handle to discuss his daughter's business. 
 
 "This was less about his family's business and an attack on his daughter," he told reporters on Wednesday. 
 
 --CNNMoney's Cristina Alesci and CNN's Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report.
– Vox has declared a winner in the great Nordstrom-Trump war of 2017, and it isn't the president. After the retailer announced it was dropping Ivanka Trump's clothing line due to poor sales, Trump on Wednesday took to Twitter to share his displeasure. After very briefly dipping, Nordstrom's stock rebounded in a big way. It was up nearly 5% by the end of the day—a day when the rest of the market was "essentially flat," the Los Angeles Times reports. A financial reporter for the Seattle Times tweeted that Wednesday was Nordstrom's sixth best day on the market in the past year and ninth best day in the past five years. This despite White House press secretary Sean Spicer calling Nordstrom's decision to drop Ivanka's line a "direct attack" on the president, his policies, and his family that is "not acceptable."