Ivanka Trump may not have a formal title, but she continues to perform a key advocacy role in her father’s administration, attending two high-profile events Thursday.
In the morning, she participated in the “Workforce of the Future” working session along with Vice President Mike Pence, small business administrator Linda McMahon, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and several manufacturing industry CEOs.
“The administration is focused on bringing back manufacturing jobs to the United States and Ivanka has been particularly focused on planning for the future to ensure the American worker is prepared for these opportunities,” a White House official said, adding Ivanka Trump “was a crucial voice in today’s discussion.”
Thursday afternoon, the first daughter attended a listening session on domestic and international human trafficking, led by President Donald Trump. The meeting, an administration official said, was her idea.
“Ivanka has previously met with some of the groups participating today and suggested the meeting to the President who agreed immediately. It is such an important issue on both sides of the aisle and there is a real opportunity to make a difference,” the official said.
Trump was joined by her father, as well as senior advisers Dina Powell, Stephen Miller and Hope Hicks, and representatives from 10 organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, United Way and THORN. The President thanked Powell and his daughter for their work setting up the session, saying he is prepared to use the full force and weight of the government to solve the problem of human trafficking.
Thursday’s meetings come as Trump has slowly ramped up her appearances, but White House spokesman Sean Spicer no “formal” West Wing role is immediately forthcoming.
“No, nothing more than you’ve seen now,” he said when asked about it at his daily press briefing. “There (are) areas that she’s cared very passionately about before … her father coming to the White House. And now that her father is in the White House, she continues to seek a platform that helps empower and lift up women and give them opportunities.”
The first daughter accompanied the President earlier this month on a somber trip to Delaware to pay their respects to the family of a fallen service member.
She also helped orchestrate a women’s business initiative, launching the United States Canada Council for the Advancement of Women Business Leaders and Female Entrepreneurs while Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in town last week. Promoting women in the workplace is a cause near to Trump’s heart and skill set — she also has a book on the topic, Women Who Work, coming out in May.
Earlier this week, she spoke out against threats against Jewish Community Centers via Twitter, comments her father echoed the next day at a visit to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
On Wednesday, she swung by the Supreme Court with daughter Arabella Kushner at the invitation of Justice Anthony Kennedy to listen in on arguments. She posted a photo with her daughter, 5, writing, “I’m grateful for the opportunity to teach her about the judicial system in our country firsthand.”
Later in the day, she made a trip to Baltimore to participate in a roundtable discussion with local small business owners. She was flanked by Powell and National Urban League president and CEO Marc Morial.
Trump has thus far eschewed interview requests from media, opting to craft her image through social media and rare appearances at events.
She moved to Washington in January with husband Jared Kushner, a senior adviser to the President, and their three young children, who have been frequent fixtures around the White House, sometimes captured in her behind-the-scenes snaps on social media.
Aside from her public appearances, Ivanka Trump has gotten to work building relationships, hosting two private dinner parties with business executives, both focused on women in the workplace. The first working dinner took place before the inauguration at the home of friend Wendi Deng Murdoch; the second, last Thursday at her new Washington home, per a source close to Ivanka Trump.
