Kennedy, Clinton, Bush…Trump? DC insiders are suggesting that Ivanka Trump may be looking to extend her family’s influence into a political dynasty that extends beyond her father’s term as President.
Along with Executive Orders on immigration, foreign aid and the Affordable Care Act insurance mandate, Donald Trump’s first week featured a host of policy talks centered around expanding maternity leave and extending the child care tax credit.
Those policy initiatives are the work of his daughter, Ivanka who, while serving as an unpaid adviser to her father, is using her position to execute an ambitious agenda she says will help women in the working world. Could it also may set the tone for a Trump political dynasty?
The agenda is a natural extension of an initiative Ivanka piloted, called #WomenWhoWork, as head of her clothing and accessories company—a job she recently left to live in DC full time.
As Amanda Carpenter points out at Refinery 29, she’s working just as hard at promoting the cause in Washington as she did on social media, personally lobbying members of Congress to support the maternity leave extension— a policy initiative that the GOP has balked at in years past.
In May, Ivanka will release a book on the subject, also titled “Women Who Work.”
While there haven’t been many recent Presidents with adult children, it’s rare for a First Kid to be so intimately involved in political daily life. It’s more familiar territory for a First Lady, but unlike the previous few, Melania Trump is sticking to the ceremonial aspect of the position.
Carpenter suggests that Ivanka may be looking beyond her father’s administration, and that the previously liberal First Daughter could bridge that gap between parties—particularly with women, who marched in huge numbers just last Saturday—as an “educated and cosmopolitan Democrat,” and a wife, mother and corporate director whose life story resonates with older millennial women.
If Ivanka can become a successful advocate to a very prickly group of Trump detractors, the stage is set for long-term legislative impact. And that would give Ivanka much more power than she could ever hope to achieve in the boardroom.
Of course, this could all go the other way, and come crashing down around the Trump family. Donald Trump still has four years to go, and his Presidency is already controversial – as are his first week’s priorities. Ivanka’s future is heavily dependent on her own father’s success, and there are still many ways that could turn out – and not all of them good for her future.