Report: Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner may have convinced president to issue LGBT statement

A new report shows President Trump's daughter and son-in-law may have been instrumental in derailing a draft executive order meant to roll back LGBT protections in the workplace.

While White House officials reportedly claim some 200 executive orders were contemplated during Trump's transition to the Oval Office, one in particular outlined a rolling back of President Obama's protections relative to the LGBT community. The Trump administration released a statement clarifying the president's commitment to LGBT rights, something POLITICO reports could have been the handiwork of first daughter Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner.

POLITICO cites "two sources close to Kushner and Ivanka Trump" in saying the pair was in favor of the president putting out a statement in support of LGBT rights.

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The White House on Tuesday issued a statement announcing that President Trump "will continue to enforce executive order protecting the rights of the LGBTQ community in the workplace."

"President Donald J. Trump is determined to protect the rights of all Americans, including the LGBTQ community," the statement read. "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."

The statement also included mention of Trump's being the first GOP nominee to mention the LGBTQ community in his nomination acceptance speech.

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According to POLITICO's anonymous White House officials, the draft order was never intended to become law -- and Kushner and Ivanka Trump's alleged push back had little effect on the presidential action's trajectory.

Reports of the couple's interest in preserving LGBT rights, however, comes on the heels of a rumored executive order on "religious freedom," which ABC News reports as being circulated in the Trump administration. If signed, the order could weaken protections designed to shield LGBT individuals from discrimination.

In another nod to the religious right base, Trump told religious leaders at the National Prayer Breakfast that he wants to "totally destroy" a 1954 U.S. law barring churches and other religious institutions from religious activity if they want to keep tax-exempt status.

If Kushner and Ivanka Trump's particular interest in positioning the 45th president as a LGBT-friendly commander in chief becomes clearer, they could play an important role in addressing advocate concerns under the new administration.

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