Multiple outlets report that Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and a top outside adviser, has met privately with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) in recent weeks.

Jeffries would likely become House Speaker if Democrats win the lower chamber in the midterm elections.

“Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republican leaders are saying all over America that they will expand their majority in the House. But the president’s son in law is meeting with Jeffries, the top House Democrat and the speaker if Dems take the majority. Trump has met with Jeffries once,” Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman said.

“Another interesting wrinkle is kushner is one of the house democrats top investigative targets,” he added.

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The rare engagement was held in a private space in New York City, offered up by a mutual friend of the two men, according to two people with knowledge of the meeting and a third who was briefed on it. They and others were granted anonymity to discuss a meeting about which they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Through aides, neither man would comment on the session, which was described by one person with knowledge of it as a broad conversation on a range of topics. Still, its timing underscored that those around Mr. Trump were well aware of the likelihood of a Democratic-led House, and trying to foster as much of a working relationship as possible before any change. Mr. Jeffries is in line to be the speaker, were Democrats to win the majority.

Democrats and the president have been savaging each other on the campaign trail with increasing fury as the midterm elections approach, and as Republicans are fighting to retain their thin House and Senate majorities.

Mr. Trump has called Mr. Jeffries a “thug,” and at a May campaign event referred to him as a “low IQ” person who had inspired him to deride Democrats as the “Dumocrats.” Mr. Jeffries routinely suggests that Mr. Trump is not only extreme but corrupt, vowing that Democrats would “hold the crooks accountable” if they won control.

The private get-together was described by one of the people as a catch-up for Mr. Kushner and Mr. Jeffries. The two men have stayed in touch since they worked together on a criminal justice bill midway through Mr. Trump’s first term.

“I don’t know what that’s about,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said.

“He is not really directly involved in the admin, at least not the day-t0-day in the White House,” he continued.

Johnson said he’s in the middle of a 30-day campaign fundraising tour ahead of midterms.

“I’m going to the places where the races are really tight,” Johnson said.

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“The Cook Political Report says as of yesterday, on election night you can expect 211 Republican victories, 205 Democrat victories, [and] 19 seats in the middle,” he explained.

“I’m telling you we’re going to defy history and hold this majority,” he added.

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The reported meeting drew criticism from some Democrats and Trump critics. Former Obama aide Tommy Vietor said Jeffries should only work with Kushner when seeking “documents and subpoenas,” while former GOP Representative Adam Kinzinger wrote, “Make this make sense,” and later said he believed the Trump administration may have intentionally leaked news of the meeting.

Others took a more measured approach. Appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press, Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, said on Sunday that he supports people meeting to discuss ideas but suggested any judgment should depend on what comes of those conversations.

“I’m in favor of people meeting with whoever they want to discuss ideas,” Van Hollen said. “But it’s one thing to have a meeting. It’s another thing to see something real come out of that.”

The reported Jeffries-Kushner meeting has attracted attention because it suggests some behind-the-scenes communication between figures who could play major roles if Democrats regain control of the House.

If Democrats win control of the House, Jeffries would be the frontrunner to become speaker and could oversee intensified scrutiny of the Trump administration. At the same time, both parties continue to publicly clash over issues ranging from immigration and government spending to healthcare and foreign policy.

Johnson’s characterization of Kushner as someone who “hedges bets” suggests he views the outreach as preparation for a possible Democratic House takeover, a scenario the speaker insisted Republicans can still prevent.

 

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