President Donald Trump’s administration is weighing options on whether to keep President Barack Obama’s White House Council on Women and Girls, Politico reported.
Three senior White House officials told Politico that the council has not been active.
“We want the input of the various agencies to understand the assets they have so that we make this office additive, not redundant,” White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks said.
Sources who served in Obama's White House told Politico that the existence of such an office serves to illustrate a president's priorities, and the lack of the office also sends a message.
The office handled women’s issues from healthcare to equity in pay, Politico reported.
At first, it appeared Trump would keep the outreach office, as Kellyanne Conway, Trump's senior counselor, said in February she expected that she would be in charge of it.
In April, Hicks said Ivanka Trump and Dina Powell, deputy national security adviser, were holding an internal review about the office, according to Politico.
Ivanka Trump has been the most public about her focus on women’s issues, including an appearance in Germany with Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss women’s entrepreneurship.
Washington veterans said, however, that a dedicated staff would serve issues more effectively.
"That’s the problem, there’s nobody to reach out to except Ivanka," Betsy Myers, who directed President Bill Clinton's version of the office, told Politico.
"If you don’t have somebody with a full-time job and a team—and the right title because that allows you to get into the right meeting — then you’re not going to be able to move the agenda forward on behalf of women," Myers said.
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