Though she has no formal role within her father’s cabinet, Ivanka Trump’s ability to influence White House policies—particularly those that affect women—has not gone unnoticed. After spearheading her father’s outreach to women on the campaign trail, the eldest Trump daughter is now advocating for women business owners and entrepreneurs, survivors of human trafficking, and working mothers. And with her father planning to introduce a major tax plan soon—specifics of said overhaul are still TBD—the First Daughter is meeting with Congress about how to make her child care and paid maternity leave plans a reality.
According to Bloomberg, Ivanka Trump met with members of the House and the Senate last week to urge them to include deductions for child care in their tax reform. The plan, for the most part, departs little from a policy introduced by Trump last fall. Individuals earning less than $250,000 annually—or couples taking home less than $500,000 each year—would be able to deduct child care expenses from their income taxes. But according to a 2015 report from the Tax Policy Center, 45 percent of American families don’t earn enough each year to pay income taxes. Under Trump’s proposal, low-income families who don’t qualify for the deduction would earn a higher earned income tax credit—a benefit that allows low-earning families to qualify for a tax refund. Whether or not the plan will truly benefit these families is still murky.