Donald Trump has handed his daughter Ivanka an unexpected job: hosting a UFC cage fight on the White House lawn.
Ivanka, once a top adviser in her father’s first term, had largely disappeared from politics—until now. At Trump’s request, she’s stepping in to lead what will be the first-ever UFC event on White House grounds.
“When [Trump] called me and asked me to do it, he said, ‘I want Ivanka in the middle of this,’” UFC CEO Dana White said on CBS Mornings Tuesday. “So Ivanka reached out to me, and her and I started talking about the possibilities, where it would be and, you know, I put together all the renderings.”
Trump has been hyping the idea of a White House fight for months. A die-hard UFC fan, he’s been spotted ringside at major bouts—with Ivanka often sitting right next to him. Now, it’s official: the fight is set for July 4, 2026, kicking off celebrations for America’s 250th birthday.
“It is definitely going to happen,” White confirmed.
A White House source also told CBS News that planning is already underway.
Ivanka’s return comes after she deliberately stepped away from politics. She refused to join Trump’s 2024 campaign, saying she didn’t want to drag her family back into the political chaos.
“I love policy and impact. I hate politics. And unfortunately, the two are not separable,” she said earlier this year on the Him & Her podcast. “I know the cost, and it’s a price that I’m not willing to make my kids bear.”
Since then, she’s kept a low profile, attending exclusive events like Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez’s wedding in Venice, but steering clear of the campaign trail. Now, Trump has pulled her back in—but not for policy.
This time, she’s running point on a full-blown UFC showdown in the heart of Washington, D.C.—a spectacle that fuses her father’s love of showmanship with his ties to the fight world.
