Politics & Government

Ivanka Trump Comes To Detroit To Tout STEM Agenda

The president's daughter will meet privately with Quicken Loans' Dan Gilbert and other business leaders.

DETROIT, MI—President Trump’s daughter Ivanka will be in the Motor City on Tuesday to promote her father’s efforts to promote the STEM education agenda. She will join Dan Gilbert, the chairman of Quicken Loans, as well as other local business leaders.

Her visit to the Motor City was announced on Monday, and coincided with the president directing Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to prioritize science, technology, engineering and math education, and spend at least $200 million annually on competitive grants for schools to broaden their access to computers and technology.

Ivanka Trump, a senior White House adviser on the workforce issues, told reporters during a telephone briefing earlier Monday that it is vital that students, especially girls and racial minorities, learn how to write computer code and study computer science.

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"Today represents a giant leap forward as we think about aligning the skills that are taught in the classroom with the skills that are in demand in the modern economy," Ivanka Trump said in the Oval Office before the president signed a directive instructing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to act.

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During Ivanka Trump’s visit Tuesday, an announcement is expected on a private-sector commitment to help fund the technology programs. The meeting is to be at an office of Gilbert’s in downtown Detroit. Also at the meeting will be Hadi Partovi of Code.org, Marilyn Hewson of Lockheed Martin, and other business leaders.

Information for this report came from the Associated Press

Photo by Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images

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