Jared Kushner has apparently latched on to Trump's re-election fundraising for influence security

In an interview broadcast Sunday night, Jared Kushner told Axios he believed he was named senior White House adviser because of his "good track record in all the things I've done," not because he's married to President Trump's eldest daughter — but Kushner's track record isn't great, The New York Times reports. "His plan for ending a 35-day government shutdown failed to deliver a compromise. His immigration proposal was greeted by congressional Democrats and Republicans alike as dead on arrival," and his secret Middle East peace plan "is in trouble even before it has been officially announced."

"Amid policy missteps and at the risk of frustrating President Trump," Kushner "has set his sights on what he has described to people as a new problem in need of his attention," lackluster fundraising for Trump's 2020 re-election campaign, the Times reports. So Kushner organized a dinner in the White House residence last month with Trump, Republican National Committee head Ronna McDaniel, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and a group of big donors. None of them reportedly thought Trump has a fundraising problem.

"Reading the room, Mr. Kushner tried to turn the meeting over to Ms. McDaniel, but she replied that she was not the one who had organized it," the Times reports. Trump left the dinner early, saying: "As long as we're breaking records, I don't care."

The Week

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

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up

So why is Kushner taking on Trump's fundraising, atop everything else? "For personal and strategic reasons," the Times reports, citing Kushner allies. He's reveling in his "new sense of influence in the White House," but also trying to prevent "antagonists and potential rivals from taking over a job that comes with great power and proximity to the president." Kushner allies say he hosted the dinner "to present himself to Mr. Trump as the person with the best solutions," his self-confidence undiminished by "criticism and defeat," the Times adds. You can read more about Kushner's awkward dinner party and moxie at The New York Times.