WASHINGTON — A battle between Elizabeth Warren and first daughter Ivanka Trump could be futile for the Bay State senator.

At issue is Ivanka Trump’s role as a West Wing employee. Ethics rules allow the White House to self-police its practices, and the only outcome is just another partisan duel, experts said.

“I simply do not understand why Sen. Warren is needlessly attacking Ivanka Trump,” said Republican strategist Matt Mackowiak. “She isn’t going anywhere, and Sen. Warren must know that, so the only explanation is that attacking anyone named Trump riles up the left-wing base.”

Responding to an inquiry by Warren and U.S. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), the Office of Government Ethics Director Walter M. Shaub said Ivanka Trump’s formal position as assistant to the president removes any ambiguity that ethics rules and regulations apply to her.

No one from the White House consulted ethics officials before naming her as an adviser before OGE contacted the White House, according to Shaub.

The first daughter owns an eponymous fashion label and holds as much as a $25 million stake in a Trump International Hotel just down the street from the White House, according to financial disclosures. She handed over daily operations of her business to another executive and placed its assets in a trust, but not a blind trust, a move that would have required her to sell the company.

Watchdog groups have raised flags over Ivanka Trump’s business ties, noting potential conflicts including patent petitions by her company in China and the Philippines as she and other White House officials hold meetings with the heads of those nations.

But despite OGE’s warning that she should recuse herself from any matter which could benefit her business interests and create a blind trust, it appears pointless because enforcing those rules rest with her boss — her dad.

“It’s kind of like a toothless watchdog organization,” said Scott Amey, general counsel at the Project on Government Oversight of the OGE. “It’s very good with education and advising and certain things it has the power to do, but it needs additional power to add enforcement.”

Boosting the OGE’s enforcement power would require legislation that, even if passed by Congress, would require the president’s signature. Warren introduced a bill to toughen ethics standards for the president and vice president, but it’s unclear whether other bills will follow that would apply to other employees.

“I understand why Warren wants to attack her,” said GOP strategist John Feehery, “If you can somehow diminish her ability to be a positive influence, you can somehow weaken the Trump presidency. It’s very partisan and not particularly helpful for the country, but that’s how Warren rolls.”