Ivanka Trump Celebrates 'Big Win' In Senate As Historic 'Paid Parental Leave' Passed

A provision requiring 12 weeks of paid parental leave for all federal employees was approved by the Senate Tuesday, giving presidential daughter Ivanka Trump her biggest legislative win in her three-year long campaign to bring this about.

The provision is part of the the $738 billion National Defense Authorization Act that also establishes the new Space Force and gives U.S. military personnel a three percent pay hike. That the paid leave provision is included in the NDAA was confirmed by a Republican source, according to CNN.

The Senate on Tuesday passed the NDAA in an 86 to 8 vote. The bill easily passed the House of Representatives last week by 377 to 48.

Ivanka was overjoyed at the passage of the provision, tweeting, "The success of American families is essential to the success of our Country. The passage of Paid Leave for federal employees is a major win for many, many American families!"

The White House agreed to providing 12 weeks of paid parental leave for federal workers despite Republican objections in exchange for the provision establishing the new Space Force, which is now the sixth service branch of the United States Armed Forces.

Left out of the NDAA were provisions related to funding Trump's border wall with Mexico and a Democrat provision that would have blocked Trump from transferring money from Pentagon accounts to construct a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Trump has said he will "immediately" sign the NDAA. He claims "all of our priorities have made it into" the bill. House Armed Services Committee Chair Adam Smith (D-WA) last week said the NDAA legislation is "the most progressive defense bill in the history of the country."

Over the past two years, Ivanka met with more than 60 Democrat and Republican lawmakers to push federal paid leave. The United States is the only industrialized country that doesn't offer paid parental leave for employees and is only one of two countries that fail to do so. The only other country is New Guinea.

"As the country's largest employer, the United States government must lead by example," " said Ivanka in a statement. "After three years of relentless advocacy, the passage of the NDAA will secure Paid Parental Leave for all federal employees. This will mark a huge step forward towards making paid leave a reality for all Americans. This new policy represents another incredible win for millions of hard-working American families courtesy of President Trump!"

The provision for paid parental leave in the NDAA only covers federal employees. Ivanka said she will continue to advocate making paid family leave a possibility for private sector workers, as well.

Ivanka previously said the current American child care system is “not sustainable.” She believes she's made some progress since 2017, however. She cites her own work in securing an increase in the child tax credit in 2017’s tax law.

“It's a travesty that we are the only country in the developed world without a policy to support parents and families,” she said. “It's an area that we just needed to do better, and we ought to do better.”