Kushner briefed Senate Republicans on his immigration plan. They left with lots of unanswered questions.


Jared Kushner, President Trump's senior advisers and son-in-law, briefed Senate Republicans Tuesday on his plan to overhaul America's immigration system. Senators emerged describing the plan as a set of goals designed more to unify Republicans ahead of the 2020 election than to be turned into law. Kushner got lots of pointed questions during the meeting, The Washington Post reports, and senators didn't get many answers.
Publicly, several GOP senators gave Kushner two cheers for presenting his ideas, which include moving immigration policy toward a merit-based system that favors higher-skilled immigrants using a point system, preceded by a mandatory civics test, the Post reports. "But privately, Republican officials said Kushner did not have clear answers to some questions from the friendly audience, prompting Trump's other senior adviser, Stephen Miller, to interrupt at times and take over the conversation. ... Some GOP senators left the meeting wondering whether Kushner understood the issue."
Specifically, Kushner told Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) his plan wouldn't address DACA recipients, making it a nonstarter with Democrats; couldn't answer Sen. John Cornyn's (R-Texas) question about what happens with the 11 million undocumented immigrants already in the U.S.; and "confused the senators when he said a central principle in his immigration plan would be to unify immigrant families, including mothers and children," the Post reports. Cornyn declined to comment on the meeting. Collins told the Post afterward she's "concerned about the fate of the DACA young people, and they cannot be excluded from any immigration package."
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.
"He's in his own little world," one individual familiar with the meeting told the Post. "There were a number of instances where people had to step in and answer questions because he couldn't." A senior administration officials said Kushner offered "a detailed proposal that we can unify Republicans around," but "we aren't giving details out because we don't want details to be leaked." Read more at The Washington Post.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Wonsan-Kalma: North Korea's new 'mammoth' beach resort
Under the Radar Pyongyang wants to boost tourism but there won't be many foreign visitors to Kim Jong Un's 'pet project'
-
The 5 best TV reboots of all time
The Week Recommends Finding an entirely new cast to play beloved characters is harder than it looks
-
Crossword: July 10, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
-
AI scammer fakes Rubio messages to top officials
Speed Read The unknown individual mimicked Rubio in voice and text messages sent to multiple government officials
-
SCOTUS greenlights Trump's federal firings
speed read The Trump administration can conduct mass federal firings without Congress' permission, the Supreme Court ruled
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
Elon Musk launching 'America Party'
Speed Read The tech mogul promised to form a new political party if Trump's megabill passed Congress
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side deal
The pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities