ABC News(WASHINGTON) — First daughter Ivanka Trump visited with lawmakers at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday where she was greeted with a hug by one of her father’s former campaign rivals, Sen. Marco Rubio.
Ivanka Trump arriving at the Capitol greeted by Sen Rubio. She’s now meeting with lawmakers on child tax credit. pic.twitter.com/shhrD9kOnW
— Erica Werner (@ericawerner) June 20, 2017
The Florida Republican invited colleagues to meet with him and Trump during her trip to the Hill about child tax credits, including Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb.
Fischer introduced a bill focusing on tax credits for companies that offer paid family leave earlier this year, and Rubio was one of the first Republican presidential candidates to offer a paid family leave proposal during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump has three children and is often credited with pushing her father to prioritize policies like paid family leave. In President Trump’s official 2018 budget proposal, he called for a paid leave program funded by unemployment insurance overhaul. The United States is the only industrialized nation that does not have guaranteed family leave for new parents.
Childcare is a major expense for American working families. This Admin. is focused on creating policy solutions to enable them to thrive!
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) June 20, 2017
Rubio appears to be working more closely with the Trump family since the president announced plans June 17 to reverse the more lenient Cuban travel and trade policies enacted by former President Obama.
Rubio defended Trump’s Cuba policy on Twitter, creating the hashtag #BetterDealForCuba. He has emphasized that the Trump policy allows individual travel but prevents business with entities tied to the Castro military regime.
Amused reading how opponents of @realDonaldTrump #BetterDealforCuba argue that it goes too far but also that it doesn’t mean anything
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) June 16, 2017
Rubio also announced his decision to work with Ivanka Trump, saying on Fox News Sunday they both represent a “pro-family party” and “believe in strengthening families” in relation to the child tax credit policy. He praised the first daughter earlier in June for highlighting the American Enterprise Institute’s series of blog posts on paid family leave.
“We argue that, you know, parents should be able to keep more of their own money to raise their children,” Rubio said.
The apparent detente between the Trump family and Rubio comes as a surprise to many after the senator and president went head to head throughout the 2016 presidential elections. President Trump famously nicknamed Rubio “Little Marco” during the campaign, to which Rubio responded with the name “Big Donald” with “little hands.”
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