Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump announced Thursday he will pull out of the Paris climate agreement , something his daughter and top adviser, Ivanka Trump, opposed.

"We're getting out, but we will start to negotiate and see if we can make a deal that's fair," Trump said Thursday afternoon. "And if we can, that's great."

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, both top advisers to the President, were not present during the Rose Garden ceremony. They went to synagogue in the morning for the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. Ivanka Trump went home to observe the holiday with her kids, as she did Wednesday. Kushner was in the White House working.

Ivanka Trump advocated on behalf of the Paris pact until the very end, according to an administration official. While the final result is technically a loss, the President's decision to withdraw over three years allows him the flexibility to change course with renegotiated terms.

But the decision to use the withdrawal mechanism written into the accord, rather than removing the US entirely from the treaty, could signal that he's still listening to the first daughter, who has long had his ear.

The actual withdrawal from the Paris agreement would take place on November 4, 2020, according to a Paris negotiator, four years after the deal went into force on November 4, 2016. That is one day after the 2020 election on November 3, meaning it's possible it won't happen at all if Trump loses his re-election bid.

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The decider

Ivanka Trump has long been a trusted adviser to her father, from her real estate career at the Trump Organization to his 2016 campaign, and now, in the West Wing. She has said she intends to act as a moderating force in the administration, serving as the President's eyes and ears on a variety of topics.

Her critics say she hasn't had any tangible successes given her proximity to the world's most powerful man -- and she's done little to minimize expectations that she would be that moderating influence.

What Ivanka Trump lacks in governmental experience, she makes up for with the key and rare asset of knowing her father, how he thinks, and how he makes decisions better than almost anyone. The first daughter has noted her conversations with her father happen behind the scenes -- and her ability to shape her father's positions is largely unknown.

But Trump's decision to leave the agreement signaled that at the end of the day, whatever influence she may have, he'll listen, but he's the decider.

"Obviously, Jared and Ivanka don't have as much pull as we think," said a source close to the administration on Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris agreement.

Since formally taking a role as special assistant in the administration in late March, the President's eldest daughter has leaned into advocacy on a portfolio of largely noncontroversial issues, including women's economic empowerment, combating human trafficking and paid family leave, a topic she had success with last week as the administration released a budget that included paid leave provisions for new mothers, fathers, and adoptive parents.

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The climate deal

Yet she also put eggs in a basket with less potential for success: climate change. Trump has not spoken publicly about the issue or outlined any specific initiatives on behalf of the administration, but during the transition, a source close to her told Politico she wanted to make climate change "one of her signature issues."

The report cast her as a would-be "climate czar," setting high expectations on this topic.

In February, leaks to The Wall Street Journal did little to minimize those expectations , which suggested Ivanka Trump and her husband persuaded the President to strike language critical of the climate deal from a draft of an executive order.

Recognizing she faced an uphill battle -- her father frequently railed against the Paris deal on the campaign trail -- she set to arm the President with information. He is known to listen to a variety of voices and perspectives before making decisions, and his daughter ran point.

She was very involved in the decision process, and took a proactive role in shepherding those perspectives as he made up his mind.

"The President's inclination was to pull out" of the agreement, per the administration official, "And she helped set up a process to ensure that he heard from all sides, both inside and outside the government." Those meetings included EPA administrator Scott Pruitt, as well as climate change activists like actor Leonardo DiCaprio and former vice president Al Gore, whom the President met with during the transition and spoke with again earlier this month.

Kushner was said to be more open to leaving the agreement, and felt the agreement's standards didn't work for the US economy.

But after months of discussion, Trump's mind was not changed.

The President was sure he needed to begin the withdrawal process, and there was no talking to him about it, per a source close to Trump. He was convinced the deal would be bad for the US, believing that the US is a "laughing stock" for participating in this agreement. He also wants to negotiated a better deal, which he could not do without pulling out, the source said.

Photos: Donald Trump's rise President-elect Donald Trump has been in the spotlight for years. From developing real estate and producing and starring in TV shows, he became a celebrity long before winning the White House. Hide Caption 1 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump at age 4. He was born in 1946 to Fred and Mary Trump in New York City. His father was a real estate developer. Hide Caption 2 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump, left, in a family photo. He was the second-youngest of five children. Hide Caption 3 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump, center, stands at attention during his senior year at the New York Military Academy in 1964. Hide Caption 4 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump, center, wears a baseball uniform at the New York Military Academy in 1964. After he graduated from the boarding school, he went to college. He started at Fordham University before transferring and later graduating from the Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania's business school. Hide Caption 5 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump stands with Alfred Eisenpreis, New York's economic development administrator, in 1976 while they look at a sketch of a new 1,400-room renovation project of the Commodore Hotel. After graduating college in 1968, Trump worked with his father on developments in Queens and Brooklyn before purchasing or building multiple properties in New York and Atlantic City, New Jersey. Those properties included Trump Tower in New York and Trump Plaza and multiple casinos in Atlantic City. Hide Caption 6 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump attends an event to mark the start of construction of the New York Convention Center in 1979. Hide Caption 7 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump wears a hard hat at the Trump Tower construction site in New York in 1980. Hide Caption 8 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump was married to Ivana Zelnicek Trump from 1977 to 1990, when they divorced. They had three children together: Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric. Hide Caption 9 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise The Trump family, circa 1986. Hide Caption 10 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump uses his personal helicopter to get around New York in 1987. Hide Caption 11 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump stands in the atrium of the Trump Tower. Hide Caption 12 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump attends the opening of his new Atlantic City casino, the Taj Mahal, in 1989. Hide Caption 13 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump signs his second book, "Trump: Surviving at the Top," in 1990. Trump has published at least 16 other books, including "The Art of the Deal" and "The America We Deserve." Hide Caption 14 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump and singer Michael Jackson pose for a photo before traveling to visit Ryan White, a young child with AIDS, in 1990. Hide Caption 15 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump dips his second wife, Marla Maples, after the couple married in a private ceremony in New York in December 1993. The couple divorced in 1999 and had one daughter together, Tiffany. Hide Caption 16 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump putts a golf ball in his New York office in 1998. Hide Caption 17 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise An advertisement for the television show "The Apprentice" hangs at Trump Tower in 2004. The show launched in January of that year. In January 2008, the show returned as "Celebrity Apprentice." Hide Caption 18 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise A 12-inch talking Trump doll is on display at a toy store in New York in September 2004. Hide Caption 19 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump attends a news conference in 2005 that announced the establishment of Trump University. From 2005 until it closed in 2010, Trump University had about 10,000 people sign up for a program that promised success in real estate. Three separate lawsuits -- two class-action suits filed in California and one filed by New York's attorney general -- argued that the program was mired in fraud and deception. Trump's camp rejected the suits' claims as "baseless." And Trump has charged that the New York case against him is politically motivated. Hide Caption 20 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump attends the U.S. Open tennis tournament with his third wife, Melania Knauss-Trump, and their son, Barron, in 2006. Trump and Knauss married in 2005. Hide Caption 21 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump wrestles with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at WrestleMania in 2007. Trump has close ties with the WWE and its CEO, Vince McMahon. Hide Caption 22 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise For "The Apprentice," Trump was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in January 2007. Hide Caption 23 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump appears on the set of "The Celebrity Apprentice" with two of his children -- Donald Jr. and Ivanka -- in 2009. Hide Caption 24 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump poses with Miss Universe contestants in 2011. Trump had been executive producer of the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants since 1996. Hide Caption 25 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise In 2012, Trump announces his endorsement of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Hide Caption 26 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump speaks in Sarasota, Florida, after accepting the Statesman of the Year Award at the Sarasota GOP dinner in August 2012. It was shortly before the Republican National Convention in nearby Tampa. Hide Caption 27 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump appears on stage with singer Nick Jonas and television personality Giuliana Rancic during the 2013 Miss USA pageant. Hide Caption 28 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise In June 2015, during a speech from Trump Tower, Trump announced that he was running for President. He said he would give up "The Apprentice" to run. Hide Caption 29 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump -- flanked by U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio, left, and Ted Cruz -- speaks during a CNN debate in Miami on March 10. Trump dominated the GOP primaries and emerged as the presumptive nominee in May. Hide Caption 30 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise The Trump family poses for a photo in New York in April. Hide Caption 31 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump speaks during a campaign event in Evansville, Indiana, on April 28. After Trump won the Indiana primary, his last two competitors dropped out of the GOP race. Hide Caption 32 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump delivers a speech at the Republican National Convention in July, accepting the party's nomination for President. "I have had a truly great life in business," he said. "But now, my sole and exclusive mission is to go to work for our country -- to go to work for you. It's time to deliver a victory for the American people." Hide Caption 33 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump faces Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the first presidential debate, which took place in Hempstead, New York, in September. Hide Caption 34 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump apologizes in a video, posted to his Twitter account in October, for vulgar and sexually aggressive remarks he made a decade ago regarding women. "I said it, I was wrong and I apologize," Trump said, referring to lewd comments he made during a previously unaired taping of "Access Hollywood." Multiple Republican leaders rescinded their endorsements of Trump after the footage was released. Hide Caption 35 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump walks on stage with his family after he was declared the election winner on November 9. "Ours was not a campaign, but rather, an incredible and great movement," he told his supporters in New York. Hide Caption 36 of 37 Photos: Donald Trump's rise Trump is joined by his family as he is sworn in as President on January 20. Hide Caption 37 of 37

Ivanka's influence

"I wasn't elected by the American people to be president. My father is gonna do a tremendous job. And I wanna help him do that. But I don't think that it will make me a more effective advocate to constantly articulate every issue publicly where I disagree. And that's OK," she said.

Trump suggested that ultimately, her influence on her father may not be obvious to outside observers.

"That means that I'll take hits from some critics who say that I should take to the street. And then other people will in the long-term respect where I get to. But I think most of the impact I have, over time most people will not actually know about."

The decision comes as her husband faces intensifying scrutiny for his contacts with Russian officials . Back at the White House this week, the couple is keeping their heads down, and it's "business as usual," according to the administration official.

The official said the two share a "healthy understanding that there's attention on you when you're at this level," and White House staff is "following their lead and focusing on their work."