Ivanka Trump picked a conspicuously bad moment to not-so-casually drop in to the Oval Office on Wednesday
Congressional Republicans "have banked on at least one comforting constant" during President Trump's tenure, say Glenn Thrush and Maggie Haberman at The New York Times: "However unpredictable, disengaged, backbiting, or belligerent he has been to them, he has been unwilling to ditch them for the Democrats." That changed on Wednesday, when Trump sided with the Democratic leaders, Sen. Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), against top Republicans and his treasury secretary on a deal to raise the debt limit for three months, not up to 18 months as Republicans wanted.
Republicans were "shellshocked" by Trump's move, according to several accounts of Wednesday's meeting, then furious. And just after Trump allied with the Democrats, Ivanka Trump walked in, CNN reports. Legislators and staff members described the moment as "instantly iconic, and not in a good way," Thrush and Haberman report. Here's the version they heard:
And from The Atlantic:
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And CNN:
CNN's Betsy Klein says that the "casual drop-by from daughter Ivanka Trump" is a well-known Trump gambit in "high-profile meetings" dating back to when Ivanka was in high school. Officially, the president invited his daughter into Wednesday's meeting to discuss the child care tax credit, but she has also dropped in during recent high-stakes newspaper interviews. GOP leaders apparently won't miss this trick when Ivanka returns to New York.
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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