Ivanka Trump’s proposal for paid family leave was harshly criticized by The Wall Street Journal editorial board last month — but the first daughter wasn’t going to take it laying down.
She responded to her critics with a letter that’s a little controversial among conservatives — but not in the White House. It seems President Donald Trump is completely backing her proposal for an “investment in America’s working families.”
According to Ivanka, the president isn’t the only one backing her. In a poll by the National Partnership for Women and Families quoted in Ivanka’s letter, 82% of voters support Congress looking into her paid family leave proposal, she said.
Her letter was an open reply to the Journal’s criticism of her paid family leave initiative they called the “The Ivanka Entitlement.”
The proposal is at it’s heart “unobjectionable,” the editorial board wrote, but “the details are messy.”
Ivanka replied that her plan would mean a United States with, “Healthier children and parents in more tightly bonded families, greater financial stability and stronger attachment to the labor force are among the most important.”
“Unfortunately,” Ivanka continued, “those who need these benefits the most aren’t getting them; the poorest, most vulnerable workers in our society get left behind. Currently, only 6% of workers in the bottom income quartile have access to paid family leave. Studies show that these individuals — particularly women without a college degree — are far more likely to lose or quit their jobs in the event of childbirth, resulting in a far greater cost to society over the long term.”
“The reality is that in 63 percent of American homes with children, all parents work,” Ivanka also wrote. “Providing a national guaranteed paid-leave program — with a reasonable time limit and benefit cap — isn’t an entitlement, it’s an investment in America’s working families.”
The White House’s official Twitter account shared the article with over 19 million followers on Wednesday —
'Ivanka Trump Replies on Paid Family Leave' via @WSJ https://t.co/JjYrc0wYJx
— President Trump 45 Archived (@POTUS45) July 5, 2017
— The Horn editorial team