Ivanka Trump describes transition to White House employee as 'a little challenging'

Ivanka Trump called the transition from being an entrepreneur to working for the federal government “a little challenging.”

“Government does move at a different pace,” she said Monday during an event celebrating National Small Business Week. “But I think that tension is good. You push to try to get more done.”

After initially saying she did not want to work in the White House, Trump now serves in the unpaid position of assistant to the president. She’s put her eponymous fashion label in a trust controlled by two relatives.

Trump has said she will advocate “for the economic empowerment of women” and is also "very focused on the role of education." She also told CBS This Morning last month that she will “weigh in with my father on the issues I feel strongly about.”

Still, it's not exactly surprising Trump finds the pace of government a shift. The administration hasn’t developed a proposal for paid maternity leave – one of her top issues. And while the president’s tax overhaul outline released last week included “tax relief for families with child and dependent care expenses,” the outline included few details on how the tax subsidy would be applied.

Without mentioning any particular issues, the eldest daughter of the president said she's enthusiastic about the possibilities.

“This whole experience over the last several months, I’ve been throwing myself into with the hope that I can make a positive impact,” she said of her new position. “The opportunity for impact is enormous, just enormous. And that’s really exciting.”

Asked about the challenge of being a working mom, Trump said she long ago threw out the window trying to a balance between work and home because she didn’t want to set herself up for failure. “I don’t even strive for it anymore,” Trump said at an event with National Small Business Week award winners. “I’ve actually chilled out a bit on this front.”

Trump, who has three children under the age of 6, said she constantly felt guilty both personally and professionally after becoming a mother. Now, Trump said, she tries instead to focus on being present in each moment and focusing on enjoying what she’s doing either at work or at home.

She also said she’s “incredibly rigid” about spending time individually with each child.

“Since I don’t have a tremendous quantity of time to spend with them, I spend real quality time,” she said.

During the CBS This Morning interview last month, Trump said she’s been taking her children to a different Washington, D.C. museum or cultural institution each week since moving to the nation’s capital to help her father.