Ivanka Trump defends paid leave plan in Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON – First daughter Ivanka Trump is defending a White House proposal to mandate paid leave for new parents in a letter to the editor published Wednesday in The Wall Street Journal.

The paper had previously criticized the Trump administration plan “as bad policy and worse politics” that would increase taxes on business. The plan would be funded through unemployment insurance.

But Ivanka Trump says in a response that: “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.”

Ivanka Trump has met with Democratic and Republican lawmakers on the issue. The program has limited GOP backing, but more modest tax policies could be included in a Republican tax overhaul effort.