Republican leaders 'visibly annoyed' over Ivanka Trump's informal visit to Oval Office
Republican congressional leaders were reportedly "visibly annoyed" after Ivanka Trump interrupted a meeting with her father to "say hello".
The senior politicians were discussing plans to raise the US debt limit for three months, as well as increasing emergency relief in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.
But the conversation reportedly "careened off topic" when Donald Trump's daughter entered the room towards the end of the meeting, aides briefed on the discussion told reporters.
Cong. source to @deirdrewalshcnn on WH meeting: GOP leaders "were visibly annoyed by Ivanka’s presence" at end, said "careened off topic."
— Kevin Liptak (@Kevinliptakcnn) September 6, 2017
Aide with knowledge: "Toward the end of the meeting Ivanka Trump entered the Oval Office to 'say hello' and the meeting careened off topic."
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) September 6, 2017
Republican leaders were left "visibly annoyed" according to several reports, although AshLee Strong – spokeswoman for the House Speaker Paul Ryan – refuted the claim, saying "That's not true".
Ms Trump interrupted shortly after the President had agreed with Democrats, saying he would support a deal that would secure disaster relief funding and raise the debt ceiling, a senior Republican source told CNN.
Hours before the meeting, Mr Ryan had said it was "ridiculous and disgraceful" for Democrats to suggest increasing the debt limit in the short term.
Congress is under pressure to raise the country's borrowing limit by 29 September and pass a spending bill the next day. Missing the deadline would close the federal government.
“We’ll agree on debt ceiling automatically because of the importance of it,” Mr Trump told reporters on Air Force One after the meeting. “We essentially came to a deal, and I think the deal will be very good. We had a very, very cordial and professional meeting.”
At a news conference after the discussion, Republican leaders did not endorse the plan, but said they would "move forward" according to the President's wishes.
Marc Short, White House director of legislative affairs, said Ms Trump entered the Oval Office to talk about child tax credit, one of her priorities as an unpaid adviser to the President.
He characterised the interruption as professional, saying it was a "quick and productive conversation".
The reports came after Ms Trump took her fathers seat during a G20 session in Hamburg in July, prompting complaints of nepotism.
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