House speaker plays down Jared Kushner's involvement in Trump administration

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Johnson's comments follow revelation of meeting between president's son-in-law, top House Democrat

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House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday that President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is “not directly involved” in the administration’s day-to-day workings, following Mr. Kushner’s secret meeting with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is in line to be speaker if the GOP loses the House in November.

Mr. Johnson brushed aside the relevance of the meeting, telling Peter Doocy, host of Fox News’ “The Sunday Briefing,” that Mr. Jeffries won’t be speaker because Republicans will “defy history” and hold onto the 19 House seats rated as toss-ups and keep the majority in November. 

According to The New York Times, Mr. Kushner and Mr. Jeffries met to discuss ways Democrats could work with the Trump administration if Democrats win control of the House, which many political analysts are predicting.

Mr. Kushner serves as one of the president’s key peace negotiators in the Middle East. According to Mr. Johnson, Mr. Kushner is not part of the domestic team.

“I know Jared has interest in lots of other things going on. He’s not really directly involved in the admin, at least in the day-to-day in the White House,” said Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican.

In a statement provided to The Washington Times, Mr. Jeffries didn’t deny meeting privately with Mr. Kushner, with whom he worked on criminal justice reform legislation.

“Throughout this Congress, Republicans have adopted a my-way-or-the-highway approach to governing that has failed the American people. To stop the madness, we have repeatedly made clear that an extremist approach will not work and will be met with forceful opposition,” Mr. Jeffries said.

“The American people want bold change and that’s what House Democrats will deliver. In every conversation that we have with the Trump administration, we will continue to make it explicitly clear that the affordability crisis is not a hoax and nothing short of transformational policy change is acceptable. We are fighting for an affordable America. The question is whether Republicans will join us,” he said.

While Democrats are heavily favored to win the House in November, Republicans enjoy a massive fundraising advantage.

The Republican National Committee reported $128.5 million cash on hand at the end of June, compared to the Democratic National Committee’s $16.3 million.

Mr. Johnson said money is pouring in from people concerned about socialist candidates winning Democratic primaries and taking over the party and Congress.

Source: Read the original article on www.washingtontimes.com