Johnson distances White House from Kushner after secret meeting with Jeffries

WASHINGTON, DC: Hours after the news of secret meeting between President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies came out, Speaker Mike Johnson distanced the White House from Kushner, saying he has no role in administration.

A New York Times report by Maggie Haberman and Annie Karni claimed that Kushner privately met with Hakeem Jefferies to discuss the common ground as the speculations of Trump’s potential impeachment has intensified if Democrats win the midterms.

Johnson says Kushner is not involved in admin

Disowning Jared Kushner’s role in White House, Mike Johnson said that Trump’s son-in-law has interest in a lot of things after Kushner’s secret meeting ignited controversy.

“I don’t know what that’s about. I know Jared has interest in lots of other things going on,” Mike Johnson told host Peter Doocy on Fox News’s “The Sunday Briefing.”

The Louisiana Republican added of Kushner, “He’s not really directly involved in the admin, at least in the day-to-day in the White House.”  

On the other hand Rep Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas) tries describing the secret meeting between the two leaders as administration’s efforts to reach out to democratic colleagues.

Asked about the reported Kushner-Jeffries meeting during an appearance on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday,” Rep Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas) said she talks “to my Democrat colleagues all the time.”

“People complain that we don’t talk enough. I think this is showing that the administration is trying to strike deals,” she told host Chris Stirewalt. “They are trying to come up with compromises.

 "Congratulate them for that. It seems like they can’t win for losing. If they talk to Democrats, they get criticized. If they don’t talk to Democrats, they get criticized.”

What Kushner and Jeffries discussed in secret meeting

The New York Times correspondents Maggie Haberman and Annie Karni on Sunday, August 23 reported that Jared Kushner and Hakeem Jeffries met privately in recent weeks at a New York location offered by a person described as a “mutual friend” of the two.

The two men reportedly discussed housing, immigration and the cost of living as potential areas of collaboration between the Trump administration and a Democratic-led House.

During their conversation, Kushner told Jeffries he should meet with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, two people with knowledge of the meeting told the Times.

"Its timing underscored that those around Mr Trump were well aware of the likelihood of a Democratic-led House, and trying to foster as much of a working relationship as possible before any change," the report noted.

Kushner has served as his father-in-law’s foreign envoy, focusing on the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as failed peace talks with Iranian officials.