Ivanka Trump, assistant to and daughter of the president, trekked to Capitol Hill Tuesday for a meeting with Senator Marco Rubio to discuss the Florida Republican’s ideas on expanding child tax credits. The mini-summit provided the internet with a photo of Rubio greeting Ivanka at the Capitol in an awkward embrace (prompting Rubio to jokingly say he was “investigating” the “alleged failed hug”).
More substantively, however, their discussion centered on issues that were, in Rubio’s words, “not particularly associated with” the GOP. According to someone in the room, Rubio pitched the idea of bigger tax credits for families with children as a logical conclusion from the Republican party’s support for other credits, such as business expensing. He called it “absurd” for the tax code to not value the cost of raising a family. It’s an argument Rubio’s made before, but given that the president’s daughter has expressed interest in developing policies for working families, it may get a better hearing with the president.
Joining Rubio and Ivanka were several other Republican members of Congress, including Mike Lee of Utah, who co-authored a bill with Rubio to expand the child-tax credit. Other senators in attendance were Joni Ernst, Deb Fischer, Steve Daines, and Tim Scott, along with House members David Schweikert, Trent Franks, and Lamar Smith. According to one source, Fischer took the opportunity to bring up her bill with Maine independent senator Angus King to implement a federal paid family leave program, an issue Ivanka has expressed support for. The source emphasized that Fischer’s issue was “not the point or focus of the meeting.”
One other figure in attendance suggests there may be more to the Ivanka-Rubio meeting than just an (awkward) photo-op. Marc Short, the White House legislative affairs director, is a former adviser to and ally of Vice President Mike Pence, the most important liaison between the White House and Capitol Hill. If Ivanka hopes to find support for her initiatives—many of which, as Rubio noted in Tuesday’s meeting, don’t fall into the traditional Republican wheelhouse—some help from the Pence side of the West Wing would be key to getting passage in a GOP-controlled Congress.
Trump on China and North Korea: ‘It Has Not Worked Out’
President Trump offered a cryptic update on the U.S. policy toward North Korea via Twitter (of course).
While I greatly appreciate the efforts of President Xi & China to help with North Korea, it has not worked out. At least I know China tried!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 20, 2017
What does that mean? A few minutes before Trump’s tweet, White House press secretary Sean Spicer addressed questions about a possible American response to the death of American citizen Otto Warmbier, who last week was returned to his home in Ohio after serving 18 months in a North Korean prison.
“I think we’ve had positive movement with China over the last five months in this administration,” Spicer said.
That’s just the opposite of the implication of Trump’s tweet. The White House hasn’t responded to multiple requests to explain what’s changed.
So what could it be? Back in April, Trump agreed with Xi Jinping of China on a 100-day plan for talks and negotiations on trade. Trade remains a key element of the U.S. strategy on containing North Korea, so Trump’s ambiguous pronouncement on what “has not worked out” could refer to a breakdown in those talks. But Day 100 for that plan doesn’t occur until next month.
Will Spicer Stay or Will He Go?
Speaking of Spicer, the press secretary responded in Tuesday’s briefing to reports that he’s on his way out or up from his regular job at the podium.
“I’m right here,” he told the White House press corps with a laugh. “It’s no secret we have had a couple vacancies, including our communications director, who has been gone for a while. We have been seeking input from individuals as far as ideas they have. We have been meeting with potential people who may be of service to this administration….But we are always looking for ways to do a better job of articulating the president’s message and his agenda.”
On Monday Politico reported Spicer himself was leading a search for a candidate to replace him, and had already reached out to radio host Laura Ingraham and the Daily Mail’s David Martosko. Martosko, a veteran journalist, issued a statement Tuesday saying that while he had discussed a job at the White House, he had “chosen not to take the discussions further.”
Ingraham, who had also been considered for a White House communications position during the Trump transition, has not responded to requests for comment.
Some White House communications staff were taken by surprise by the Monday reports that Spicer was leaving the job.
