Jeffries-Kushner meeting sparks speculation amid contentious US midterms

United States House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has met privately with Jared Kushner, US President Trump’s son-in-law and a apical extracurricular adviser, successful a awesome that the White House is seeking ways to enactment with Democrats if they wrestle bulk power from Republicans successful the midterm elections.

Little is known astir the details of the discussion, which was archetypal reported connected Sunday by the New York Times. The paper described it arsenic a high-profile gathering with the anticipation of sparking bipartisan “common ground.”

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The gathering reportedly touched connected issues ranging from lodging and migration to the cost-of-living crisis. Americans are struggling nether inflationary prices that Democrats responsibility Republicans and Trump for failing to curb.

In a connection reported connected Sunday, Jeffries did not notation the backstage speech but said the Republican medication needed to driblet the GOP’s “my-way-or-the-highway” attack that has frankincense acold “failed the American people”.

“To halt the madness, we person repeatedly made wide that an extremist attack volition not enactment and volition beryllium met with forceful opposition”, the New York congressman said. “The question is whether Republicans volition articulation us.”

Kushner besides suggested that Jeffries conscionable with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles arsenic a follow-up.

The reported gathering comes successful the last agelong of the contentious November midterm elections successful which Democrats whitethorn person a accidental to triumph backmost the House majority, a highly anticipated improvement that would elevate Jeffries to the almighty Speaker of the House role. If they triumph backmost the seat, Democrats are expected to usage their oversight powerfulness to aggressively probe the Trump administration, including allegations of self-enrichment by the president and his family.

Jeffries’ bureau did not respond to Al Jazeera’s petition for comment.

Congressional Republicans are unhappy astir the matter. On Sunday, existent House Speaker Mike Johnson dismissed the gathering and denigrated Kushner’s importance, telling Fox News, “I don’t cognize what that’s about. I cognize Jared has involvement successful tons of different things going on.”

Johnson added that Kushner “hedges bets” and is “not truly straight progressive successful the admin, astatine slightest successful the day-to-day successful the White House”.

“I’m telling you what, you amended not stake against the House Republicans”, the Louisiana Congressman added, saying that adjacent if the warfare with Iran was not finished by November, Republicans volition inactive crook up victorious.

The gathering besides raised immoderate eyebrows for those who disquieted that Jeffries was indulging 1 of Trump’s astir corrupt cronies.

Tommy Vietor, antecedently an adjutant to erstwhile US President Barack Obama and present a co-host of the left-leaning podcast Pod Save America, noted, “Jared Kushner has nary existent authorities occupation helium conscionable uses his household connections to get wealth from gulf autocrats and money corrupt deals. The lone mode [Jeffries] should enactment with him is with demands for documents and subpoenas.”

Mehdi Hasan, the CEO of Zeteo, echoed Vietor, penning connected societal media, “The lone gathering Hakeem Jeffries should beryllium having with Jared Kushner is to archer him he’ll beryllium subpoenaed by the House for a corruption probe connected time 1 of Democratic power of the House.” He added, “This is conscionable pathetic worldly from the House Dem leader.”

William Kristol, a erstwhile neocon-turned-leading dependable successful the ‘Never Trump’ movement, posted, “Really? Or, arsenic the kids say, AYFKM?” (The acronym stands for “Are you f****** kidding me?”)

During his clip successful Congress, Jeffries has remained a fierce professional of Trump’s bellicose overseas policy, repeatedly condemning the administration’s “reckless warfare of choice” against Iran and for what helium called “a nonaccomplishment to adequately hole for the consequences of launching a warfare connected Iran”.

The gathering shows the extent of Republican Party angst implicit losing their legislature majority, peculiarly the House, and the request to marque inroads with the opposing enactment arsenic the White House seeks to stem immoderate imaginable governmental fallout connected the president.

“The American radical privation bold alteration and that’s what House Democrats volition deliver”, wrote Jeffries successful the connection connected Sunday.

The White House did not instantly respond to Al Jazeera’s petition for comment.

Jared Kushner is simply a acquainted messenger betwixt Donald Trump and Democratic politicians

Jeffries and Kushner are not strangers.

The 2 New Yorkers agreed during the archetypal Trump medication connected landmark authorities to let sentencing flexibility for definite cause offenses arsenic a mode to curtail lengthy presumption successful the national situation system.

While not needfully close, they person maintained a nonrecreational moving narration contempt the repeated punches Trump has inflicted against Jeffries and the Democratic leader’s rhetoric. In Trump’s 2nd term, Kushner has wielded disproportionate power wrong the medication contempt holding nary authoritative White House title. He serves arsenic a apical extracurricular advisor and Special Envoy for Peace, shuttling to overseas diplomatic missions arsenic the US warfare against Iran inches toward its sixth-month mark.

Just past week, Kushner traveled to the Middle East to convene with Qatari, Turkish and Egyptian mediators earlier heading to Tel Aviv wherever helium met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu implicit the destiny of the 15-point Gaza bid program that Israel had rejected. The travel came aft officials from Trump’s newly-created Board of Peace confirmed that Kushner would pb a delegation to interruption the diplomatic deadlock, via Egypt and Israel.

Trump has lone met with Jeffries erstwhile since returning to the Oval Office. After the meeting, the president posted AI-generated deepfake contented of Senate Democratic person Chuck Schumer alongside Jeffries wearing a sombrero with a handlebar mustache. The representation was wide viewed arsenic a racist trope and a parody of the Democratic constitution conscionable earlier what would go the longest national authorities shutdown successful US history.

Trump has frankincense acold been capable to discount Congress arsenic helium either relies connected the unchecked unit of enforcement powerfulness to instrumentality his priorities oregon the lobbying of Republicans successful the House and Senate, erstwhile needed, to autumn successful enactment down his unilateral decisions.

That whitethorn soon alteration if Democrats power either the House oregon the Senate, oregon both, with lawmakers progressively keen connected flexing their ain powerfulness successful Congress arsenic a coequal subdivision of authorities much consenting to clasp the White House successful check.