Trump budget to include $100M for daughter Ivanka's project

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Catherine Lucey The Associated Press

President Donald Trump thank his daughter, American Workforce Policy Advisory Board co-chair Ivanka Trump, during the advisory board's first meeting in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, March 6, 2019. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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

The White House said 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, which she leads.

In a statement to The Associated Press, Ivanka Trump noted that Friday was International Women's Day and stressed the initiative was "working towards our goal of economically empowering 50 million women in developing countries by 2025." She says the budget includes "a new $100 million commitment" for the fund.

The new initiative involves the State Department, the National Security Council and other agencies, as it aims to co-ordinate current programs and develop new ones to help women in areas such as job training, financial support and legal or regulatory reforms.

The funding will come through the U.S. Agency for International Development, which initially set up a $50 million fund for the effort using already budgeted money. The initiative will also 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.

Ivanka Trump praised Currie, who currently serves as the representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council. She said Currie "is a formidable partner on women's economic empowerment and national security issues."

Since Ivanka Trump joined her father's administration in early 2017, she has focused on women's economic issues.