Future first lady Melania Trump will remain in Manhattan when her husband takes office, but incoming first daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, are reportedly planning to make the move to Washington.
They are house-hunting in D.C., CNN reports, a move that underscores Kushner’s importance in the Trump White House, where he is expected to take a senior leadership role.
Ivanka Trump is no stranger to Washington: She studied at Georgetown for two years and has spent plenty of time here since, heading up her father’s redevelopment of the Old Post Office building into a luxury hotel complex. She says she loves visiting Dumbarton Oaks, and she’s been spotted at the Palm with D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser, with whom she’s become friendly.
The couple has three children, the oldest of whom is 5 – meaning the family’s relocation plans might include some school visits.
And the relocation of the glamorous young couple raises questions about what role Ivanka Trump will play. Donald Trump had indicated that he planned to place his significant business dealings in the hands of his adult children, including Ivanka, one of his closest confidantes.
In addition to her role at the Trump organization, the elder Trump daughter runs her own fashion line. And with Melania Trump still in residence at Trump Tower, would that mean that Ivanka would act as de facto FLOTUS, much the way presidential daughters have stepped in throughout history when their fathers were widowers or their mothers indisposed?
Other topics that will no doubt be bandied around the city’s holiday-party circuit: Which neighborhood will the couple choose? And which Washington hotspots (other than those in the Trump hotel, of course) will they haunt?