WASHINGTON The Office of Government Ethics responded to a request by House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) about White House adviser Kellyanne Conway s possible breach of federal ethics rules by informing him that his committee has more authority to investigate this matter than the agency.

The letter from OGE Director Walter Shaub to both Chaffetz and Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md.), the top Democrat on the oversight panel, came in response to a letter the two congressmen sent urging the agency to determine if disciplinary action was warranted for Conway after she told people to purchase Ivanka Trump s brand line while appearing on Fox News . Federal laws ban executive branch employees from endorsing particular commercial products or companies.

Shaub said that the agency would follow the available disciplinary process for Conway, but he added that the oversight committee headed by Chaffetz has far more powers to investigate this matter than OGE.

Unlike the Committee, OGE cannot issue subpoenas, question witnesses, compel the production of documents or take action against individuals who refuse to cooperate, Shaub wrote to Chaffetz and Cummings.

Chaffetz told The Huffington Post on Tuesday that his takeaway from the letter was the recommendation that the White House take disciplinary action.

Were going to see what the White House does at this point, Chaffetz said.

And if it does nothing, would the oversight committee investigate?

Well, they should do something, he said. I dont know what the proper remedy is. It is a first-time offense. Im not trying to make any excuses for it, but I want the White House to let us know what theyre doing.

Chaffetz has called Conways endorsement of Ivankas product line wrong, wrong, wrong. The only action he has taken so far is the letter sent to OGE that Shaub is now responding to. There are no committee hearings scheduled to investigate Conways possible ethical breach or whether the White House actually required employees to undergo ethics training.

OGEs role is mainly preventive, helping to ward off conflicts of interest and ethics violations before they happen. It is not an investigative or enforcement body. As Shaub notes in his letter, OGE does not have any actual investigative authority or resources for hiring investigators.

Shaub further explains in his letter that the disciplinary process that Chaffetz suggested the agency undertake for Conway is really just a case of kicking the can down the road. It is entirely possible, Shaub writes, that the disciplinary process would not reach its conclusion until late April or early May. Even then, the ultimate disciplinary decision would be left in the hands of the president and not OGE. The oversight committee could, however, compel testimony and subpoena documents immediately.

The agencys disciplinary process began when OGE asked White House deputy counsel Stefan Passantino on Thursday to notify the agency if the White House took corrective action against Conway.