Jared, Ivanka heading to Peru amid White House drama

Where in the world are Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner? The pair of White House aides and family members of the president has been largely absent from the news during a hectic period at the White House. But the two are heading to Lima, Peru this week for the Summit of the Americas: a two-day gathering for heads of state from the Western hemisphere that occurs every three years, Ivanka Trump told reporters Wednesday. She said she plans to unveil a new economic empowerment program for women of that region, though she would not give any specifics about the program or its funding. “I'm extremely excited for my visit and look forward to highlighting the important work that the U.S. government and this administration are doing to empower women economically in the region and elsewhere around the globe,” she said. The pair has not been totally missing from public view — Ivanka Trump made an appearance on Wednesday at the Oval Office signing of a bill aimed at combatting human trafficking — but they have been known to leave town at times when politics turned especially messy. As Republicans’ efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act floundered in the Senate in the spring of 2017, Ivanka Trump, Kushner, and their family skied in Aspen. During protests in defense of confederate monuments in Charlottesville in August, the couple escaped Washington, D.C. for a quick trip to Vermont. Now, following a week when the FBI has raided the office of President Donald Trump’s personal attorney and as the administration weighs whether to use airstrikes in Syria, the two are decamping for Peru. A Republican close to the White House acknowledged that the married couple prefers to lay low during hectic moments because they don’t want to be associated with stories about chaos in the White House. They also do not wish to become any further enmeshed in the Russia probe, particularly if the president fires special counsel Robert Mueller. The two aides also have a tense relationship with chief of staff John Kelly, who has whittled down the expansiveness of their White House portfolios and revoked Kushner’s high-level security clearance. As Kelly becomes further marginalized in the White House, the two do not want to be seen as contributing to his diminishing role, the close White House adviser added. Ivanka Trump and Kushner are traveling to Peru along with Vice President Michael Pence, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, and United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, a senior White House official said. President Trump originally planned to attend the summit but canceled his trip on Tuesday to stay in Washington and monitor the situation in Syria, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. source: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/04/11/jared-ivanka-trip-peru-515554 #Headlines by: ncook@politico.com (Nancy Cook)

Original Post: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/04/11/jared-ivanka-trip-peru-515554