Politics

Ivanka Trump Is Already Getting to Work on Her Major Political Priority

December 15th 2016

Soon-to-be first daughter Ivanka Trump has reportedly lobbied members of congress on legislating child care benefits, a source from President-elect Donald Trump's transition team told CNN Thursday.

ivanka-trumpAP/Evan Agostini - apimages.com

The President-elect's daughter has been calling female members of congress she met in September as well as members of the Ways and Means committee, the source claims.

ivanka on phoneAP Photo/Carolyn Kaster - apimages.com

A press representative for Ivanka Trump declined to comment on the record in an email to ATTN:.

“She’s calling some to talk about the child care provisions,” Sarah Chamberlain, the president and CEO of Republican Main Street Partnership, a center-right coalition of 70 Republican members of congress, told Independent Journal Review. “It’s gonna be a big issue for her.”

“I think she’s hoping to [play a large role in the administration]," Chamberlain added. "It did come out she’s gonna have an office in the East Wing and actually I think she’s gonna be a great addition. I think she was a huge help in getting her father elected.” ATTN: reached out to Republican Main Street Partnership for comment and will update this post if necessary.

ivana-trump-motherhoodYouTube/Team Trump - youtube.com

Ivanka reportedly plans to use the East Wing room of the White House along with other members of the President-elect's family, multiple sources from the transition team told news outlets Wednesday.

The incoming first daughter played a large role in her father's campaign and advocated for his plan to provide paid maternity leave.

“Single women without children earn 94 cents for each dollar earned by a man, whereas married mothers made only 77 cents,” she said in her address at the Republican National Convention. "Gender is no longer the factor creating the greatest wage discrepancy in this country, motherhood is.”

ivanka-trumpAP/Olivier Douliery - apimages.com

Her plan attracted criticism due to its failure to provide paternity leave for fathers as well as its structure, embedded in the tax code. Critics argued that tax deductions do little to help low-income parents. (ATTN:'s Danielle DeCourcey breaks down why this is in a September story.)

ATTN: reached out to transition team National Press Secretary Hope Hicks for comment and will update this post if we hear back.

It's possible that Ivanka's role could create friction with Republican hardliners. On the other hand, some Republicans appear open to the idea.

"Achieving more permanency and certainty in the tax code [during] this Congress has helped set the stage for a comprehensive tax overhaul in 2017," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, (R-Utah) told CNBC in a December 1 statement. "In my view, we need a simpler, fairer tax system that promotes savings and investment and puts American job creators at a competitive advantage. This means making the code more efficient for families and individuals.'

The news arrives amidst a storm of speculation about how Ivanka will influence her father's presidency and whether her role will create further conflicts of interest.

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