Once tasked with everything from brokering peace in the Middle East to ending the opioid crisis in America, President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner has seen his responsibilities slowly fade away over the last few months, several White House officials told Vanity Fair.
It started when Chief of Staff John Kelly arrived over the summer. "Kelly has clipped his wings," one Republican close to the White House told Gabriel Sherman. He's made it so Kushner, who worked in real estate and once ran a newspaper, mostly focuses on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Kelly was also angry when Kushner made an unannounced trip to Saudi Arabia right before the Crown Price arrested 11 of his fellow Saudi royals, Vanity Fair reports; many believe the timing proves Kushner had something to do with planning the purge, and that's what ticked off Kelly. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders found this notion hilarious, telling Vanity Fair, "Chief Kelly and Jared had a good laugh about this inquiry as nothing in it is true."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The UK's best fishing spotsThe Week Recommends Beautiful British rivers and lakes for anglers of all levels
-
The sneaky rise of whooping coughUnder the Radar The measles outbreak isn't the only one to worry about
-
7 nightlife destinations that are positively electricThe Week Recommends Accra, Seoul, Berlin: These are a few of the cities that come alive after dark
-
Trump says electronics tariff break won't lastSpeed Read The tariff exemptions on smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices are temporary, the administration says
-
Man charged in arson attack on Pennsylvania's ShapiroSpeed Read Governor Josh Shapiro and his family were sleeping when someone set fire to his Harrisburg mansion
-
White House pushes for oversight of Columbia UniversitySpeed Read The Trump administration is considering placing the school under a consent decree
-
Supreme Court backs wrongly deported migrantSpeed Read The Trump administration must 'facilitate' the return of wrongfully deported migrant Kilmar Ábrego García from El Salvador, Supreme Court says
-
Two judges bar war-powers deportationsSpeed Read The Trump administration was blocked from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport more alleged Venezuelan gang members
-
Trump pauses some tariffs but ramps up China taxSpeed Read The president suspended most 'reciprocal' tariffs for 90 days and raised his tariffs for China to 125%
-
Ukraine nabs first Chinese troops in Russia warSpeed Read Ukraine claims to have f two Chinese men fighting for Russia
-
IRS chief resigning after ICE deal on taxpayer dataSpeed Read Several IRS officials are stepping down after the tax agency is forced to share protected taxpayer records to further Trump's deportation drive
