Ivanka Trump lays groundwork for policy role

DES MOINES, Iowa — She may not be working in the White House, but that doesn’t mean Ivanka Trump is staying out of politics.

Although she has said she will have no official role in her father’s administration, Ivanka Trump has been quietly laying the groundwork for an effort that could make her perhaps the best-connected policy ad- vocate in Washington. Trump, who has made clear she wants to push for policies benefiting women and girls, last week sought the advice of a group of female executives and media stars in New York City. And transition aides have reached out to congressional staff on child care policies, an area she has urged Presi de n t - e l e c t Donald Trump to prioritize.

In a Facebook post detailing her next moves, Ivanka Trump thanked people who had reached out on such issues and added that she is determining the “most impactful and appropriate ways for me to serve our country.”

It is not clear if Trump will establish herself independently or if she will eventually enter t he White House. But operating from the outside may take her into uncharted territory, as there are few recent examples of a first family member without a White House office advocating for policies. The closest model is the first lady, who has an office in the East Wing.

For now, the businesswoman has said only that she is stepping away from executive roles at the Trump Organization and her lifestyle brand and is moving her family to Washington so that her husband, Jared Kushner, can take a job as a senior adviser. She has also stressed that she wants to focus on settling her three young children in a new home.