Trump to call for six weeks paid maternity leave

Donald Trump will call for six weeks of paid maternity leave for new mothers in a Tuesday policy address, breaking with GOP orthodoxy. 

 

The GOP presidential nominee will outline the policy as part of a speech sketching out his child care plans as Trump reaches out to female voters. 

 

"Our plan ... creates a bipartisan solution to the issue of maternity leave," a Trump aide said on a Tuesday campaign call with reporters. 

 

"Our campaign is about getting things done for the American people, and we believe we've found a solution on paid maternity leave that could get very broad, bipartisan support and be completely self-financing."

 

The campaign said new mothers will receive unemployment benefits for six weeks paid for by eliminating fraud in unemployment insurance, describing the maternity leave as a "safety net" for new mothers. 

 

Trump has struggled to win over female voters, including the bloc of married women that have long backed the Republican Party. A CNN/ORC poll released earlier this month found Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton leading among women by a margin of 52 percent to 38 percent. In 2012, President Obama lead Mitt Romney by a margin of 55 percent to 45 percent. 

 

Republicans have not embraced calls from Democrats for paid leave. Democratic efforts to mandate paid sick leave or maternity leave fizzled out last year with little bipartisan support. 

 

Trump’s Tuesday night speech in Pennsylvania will be devoted to a deeper explanation of his child care plan, which has been crafted with significant input by Trump's daughter, Ivanka. 

 

The event is closed to the public, so it won't have the raucous feel of a typical Trump rally. The more reserved ambiance comes as the campaign looks to display a more serious tone.

 

The plan's centerpiece has already been announced: rewriting the tax code to allow families to deduct childcare expenses. The campaign is fleshing out more details ahead of Trump's speech. 

 

The total cost will be capped at the average child care costs in each state, while the highest-earning Americans — individuals making $250,000 per year or households with a combined $500,000 per year in income — won't be eligible. 

 

Stay-at-home parents will also be eligible to take the deduction. The campaign framed the moves as a step toward creating an equal playing field for those who stay home to raise their children.

 

"It's motherhood, not gender, that is the greatest predictor in determining the income disparity in the workforce,” the campaign said on a call with reporters.   

 

“We want to end the economic punishment for motherhood in the United States of America — we believe that our plan makes great strides at doing so.”

 

The plan will also add additional tax rebates and create new dependent care flexible savings accounts, which families could use for a variety of costs, including healthcare and private school tuition. 

 

The campaign said the plan is "deficit-neutral" when taken in concert with Trump's larger tax plan. 

 

Officials sought to frame the plan as a contrast to Clinton, arguing that she's run an "issues-free candidacy unprecedented in American history." 

 

"Mrs. Clinton doesn’t have a single original idea or a fresh concept about anything," one Trump campaign aide said. "Nobody knows why she's running besides she feels entitled to be president."

 

Earlier this year, Clinton sketched out a child care plan of her own that would cap those expenses at 10 percent of household income, boost salaries of those working in child care and ease the burden on student parents.