Ivanka Trump Leaving White House? Pressure To Leave W.H. Increases After Failed ‘Bribe’ To Planned Parenthood
Ivanka Trump appears to be under new pressure to leave the White House after the outgoing president of Planned Parenthood reported that Ivanka and husband Jared Kushner unsuccessfully tried to “bribe” the organization to stop performing abortions.
Cecile Richards, who is planning to step down as president of Planned Parenthood this year, revealed in a new book that Ivanka and Jared secretly met with her in January 2017 and offered the prospect that the organization’s federal funding could be increased if they would agree to stop performing abortions. Richards wrote in her book that Ivanka Trump wanted to appear as a shrewd dealmaker, a persona her father has adopted, but failed as Richards refused to bargain away the organization’s mission to offer health care services to women, People reported.
As Richards’ story spread this week, it was seen as a public failure for Ivanka Trump, whose spot in her father’s administration appears to be increasingly tenuous. In March, reports emerged that Donald Trump had asked Chief of Staff John Kelly to find a way for Ivanka and Jared to transition out of the White House, CNN reported. And People magazine reported that Trump has told his daughter and son-in-law that they should have never left New York.
In the wake of the latest story about Ivanka’s failed Planned Parenthood negotiation, Ivanka Trump has come under widespread criticism and new calls that she and Jared leave their posts at the White House have come up.
Just when you think there's no more to know about the amorality, arrogance & stupidity of Jared/Ivanka … https://t.co/dIQLA84McU
— Frank Rich (@frankrichny) April 4, 2018
There is other pressure on Ivanka Trump to leave the White House outside of the Planned Parenthood episode. The organization Citizens for Ethics highlighted the couple’s high financial debts, noting that it could become a point of outside pressure and potential blackmail.
Jared and Ivanka have a lot of debt. Would a creditor try to take advantage of it and their White House positions? pic.twitter.com/1igXWJtoUL
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) April 1, 2018
Ivanka Trump may already be planning to leave the White House. Vanity Fair reported that she and Jared Kushner are planning to exit within a month, as they have become increasingly isolated in Washington, D.C., and lost friends back in Manhattan as Donald Trump’s administration continues to make enemies. Despite the widespread rumors and growing pressure from both inside and outside the White House, Ivanka has never publicly discussed her future plans in her father’s administration.
