Trump officials will talk with staff on the powerful tax-writing Ways and Means Committee about Trump’s child care pitch. | Getty Trump officials start Hill talks on maternity leave, child-care proposals

House GOP staff and Donald Trump transition officials will talk Thursday about the president-elect’s campaign pledge to lower child-care costs and guarantee women six weeks of paid maternity leave — policies endorsed by his eldest daughter Ivanka but which could meet steadfast GOP resistance.

Trump officials, who initiated the conversations, will talk with staff on the powerful tax-writing Ways and Means Committee about Trump’s child care pitch, although final logistics were still being worked out. The Trump team also plans to involve the Education and the Workforce Committee in the future. The talks are expected to be the first of several meetings as Trump works to get the ball rolling on the lower-profile campaign pledge.


He could run into some problems: Creating a federal mandate that requires companies to provide paid maternity leave flies in the face of conservative principles, given that Republicans traditionally favor less government intervention, not more. But the discussions show Trump is serious about pressing ahead.

Ivanka is poised to become a powerful new presence in Washington. She has already met with female lawmakers, including GOP Conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.).

Some of Trump’s child care pitches may be more palatable for Republicans than others. Trump, for example, wants the tax panel to allow parents to deduct from their taxes any child care expenses for kids under four, or money spent on taking care of an elderly parent. Some Republicans could, in theory, back such a measure if it were framed as a tax cut.

Trump also wants to give employers incentives to provide childcare for their employees, though it's unclear if he would favor using the tax code to do so. He’s floated the idea of expanding the earned income tax credit for the working poor with kids.