Trump Calls for 6 Weeks of Paid Maternity Leave

Donald Trump says he has gone where no GOP presidential nominee has gone before with promises of paid maternity leave and federal subsidies for child care. Accompanied by his daughter, Ivanka, Trump unveiled his plan in a speech outside Philadelphia on Tuesday evening, the Wall Street Journal reports. His campaign says the estimated $2.5 billion cost of providing six weeks of paid maternity leave through unemployment benefits will be covered by reducing waste elsewhere in the program. He promised to make child care tax-deductible for couples making less than $500,000, and give "spending rebates" of up to $1,200 to lower-income families. A roundup of coverage:

• NPR takes a close look at the plan—which also includes special savings accounts for caring for children and elderly relatives—and at how the Trump campaign says it will pay for it. The funding plan involves "comprehensive tax and economic reform," according to a campaign spokesman.

• The Washington Post notes that Trump's paid maternity leave looks a lot like the "Baby UI" plan that Bill Clinton supported in 1999, which the Bush administration rolled back in 2003.
• Fiscal conservatives aren't happy about what they see as an expansion of government spending, though the New York Times reports that social conservatives are pleased that Trump's plan includes tax credits for stay-at-home moms.
• "My opponent has no child care plan," Trump said. Politico, however, notes that Hillary Clinton's plan includes 12 weeks of paid maternity leave, to be paid for by raising taxes on the rich.

(More Donald Trump stories.)