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Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner worked to block the Trump administration from issuing an order that would have reversed LGBT protections put in place for federal workers and contractors by President Obama, according to a report in Politico.
But two sources close to Kushner and Ivanka Trump, who have in the past been supporters of gay rights, said the young couple were both in favor of putting out a clear statement from the president, promising to uphold the 2014 Obama executive order and stopping the momentum for the turnaround in its tracks.
On Tuesday night, the White House released a statement noting that “President Donald J. Trump is determined to protect the rights of all Americans, including the LGBTQ community. President Trump continues to be respectful and supportive of LGBTQ rights, just as he was throughout the election.”
The White House released a statement Tuesday morning that said the protections would “remain intact”.
President Donald J. Trump is determined to protect the rights of all Americans, including the LGBTQ community. President Trump continues to be respectful and supportive of LGBTQ rights, just as he was throughout the election. The President is proud to have been the first ever GOP nominee to mention the LGBTQ community in his nomination acceptance speech, pledging then to protect the community from violence and oppression. The executive order signed in 2014, which protects employees from anti-LGBTQ workplace discrimination while working for federal contractors, will remain intact at the direction of President Donald J. Trump.
It's unclear whether there is any kind of broader ‘religious freedom' executive order still coming. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins remains bullish that something along those lines is yet to come from the White House.
A draft executive order on that topic, which would effectively legalize anti-LGBT discrimination, circulated this week. Passing legislation that would do the same is top of mind for social conservative lawmakers, who intend to pass the First Amendment Defense Act this session. Trump has promised to sign that.
Perkins said that Vice President Mike Pence has been involved and is “clearly sensitive to this.” If so, the fight over LGBT rights could reveal a fault line between Pence, an evangelical Christian who as governor of Indiana signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 2015; and Kushner, who is Jewish and whose social circle includes socially progressive New Yorkers.
“There are some in Trump's family that have some views on these things,” said a source close to the discussions. “That's where the decision is ultimately being made.”
