Trump 2020 might be Kushner's escape hatch

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 1 March 2018

It has been a rough few weeks for President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The senior White House adviser lost his top-secret security clearance last Friday, is accused of being a target for manipulation by foreign officials, and was the subject of a New York Times piece alleging companies gave his family business millions in loans following White House meetings.

Now, though, with the official announcement of Trump's 2020 re-election bid, Kushner has a convenient escape hatch from the West Wing if the scandals mount much further: He can simply transition to being a campaign adviser. "People close to Kushner do not expect him to make a sudden departure — unless more damaging news stories make his continued presence in the White House untenable," Politico writes. "If he does leave, he's expected to do so on his own terms, administration officials said."

While there has been some question as to how well Kushner can continue to do his job in the White House without his high-level security clearance, Chief of Staff John Kelly reassured: "I have full confidence in his ability to continue performing his duties in his foreign policy portfolio including overseeing our Israeli-Palestinian peace effort and serving as an integral part of our relationship with Mexico." But even if Kushner weathers the storm, it doesn't look like it will be pleasant: His devoted spokesman, Josh Raffel, is leaving the administration, and Trump is reportedly "in a bad, mad place" in part due to seeing Kushner continually "pounded in the press," Axios writes.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Explore More

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox