Trump budget to include $100M for Ivanka’s women’s fund

In this Feb. 16, 2019 file photo, Ivanka Trump daughter of the US President, addresses at a meeting during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany.  AP

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s 2020 budget proposal will include $100 million for a global women’s fund spearheaded by his daughter Ivanka Trump.

A White House official told The Associated Press that the budget, expected to be released Monday, will include the funding for the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative. The administration last month launched the government-wide project, led by the Republican president’s daughter and senior adviser.

The new initiative aims to help 50 million women in the developing world get ahead economically over the next six years. It involves the State Department, the National Security Council and other agencies.

And it aims to coordinate current programs and develop new ones to help women in areas such as job training, financial support and legal or regulatory reforms.

The official, who sought anonymity to discuss the budget before its release, said the funding will come through the US Agency for International Development, which initially set up a $50 million fund for the effort using already budgeted money. The initiative will be supported by programs across the government, as well as private investment.

Trump has previously sought to cut USAID’s budget. His full 2020 plans were not available Friday.

The White House also is expected to announce that the president will nominate Kelley Eckels Currie to serve as an ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues. That position, established under President Barack Obama’s administration, had been vacant since Trump took office.

Currie currently serves as the representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
Since Ivanka Trump joined her father’s administration in early 2017, she has focused on women’s economic issues. /ee