Ivanka Trump visits Rocky Mountain park after passage of conservation bill

Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and senior adviser, will visit Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado on Thursday to tout the recent passage of a bipartisan conservation bill. 

Trump, alongside Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, will tour the park and also deliver remarks, according to the White House. 

The tour is one day after the House passed the Great American Outdoors Act, which would provide funding for a popular conservation fund and address a maintenance backlog, sending it to the president’s desk. 

One of the legislation’s key sponsors was Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner (R), who faces a tough reelection fight. 

President Trump, who supports the bill, has specifically shouted out Gardner and Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who is also up for reelection this year. 

“We MUST protect our National Parks for our children and grandchildren. I am calling on the House to pass the GREAT AMERICAN OUTDOORS ACT today. Thanks  @SenCoryGardner  and  @SteveDaines  for all your work on this HISTORIC BILL!” he tweeted Wednesday ahead of the bill’s passage. 

The legislation permanently funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which helps to secure land for parks, protect endangered species habitats and preserve forests. 

It would also provide billions to address a maintenance backlog at national parks that stems from budget constraints. 

In 2016, Trump lost Colorado by about 3 percentage points. 

The president has sought to paint himself as a conservation champion in his support for the legislation, though his support for the LWCF is a reversal of a prior position.

Earlier this year, he had proposed slashing the LWCF’s budget by about 97 percent. 

His administration has also tried to shrink or strip protections from a number of other national monuments including the Bears Ears National Monument, the Grand Staircase National monument and the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument.