The executive branch
nepotism
Appointing relatives to positions you control. A federal statute bars a public official from appointing a relative to an agency they oversee.
In full
Section 3110 of Title 5 prohibits appointing, employing, or promoting a relative in the agency a public official controls, and defines relative broadly. Its application to White House staff has been litigated and is not fully settled. Separate ethics rules cover the softer cases, where a relative benefits from an official act without holding a job.
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A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.