White House Chief of Staff John Kelly is reportedly unsure of how to manage Jared Kushner’s access to the president.
Kelly is seeking to institute more formal protocols and delineations of authority in Donald Trump’s White House. The question of how to deal with Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared, is apparently proving to be difficult.
Politico reports that Kelly was left fuming particularly after he was not clued in to back-room negotiations between Kushner, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democrat Senator Dick Durbin this past summer.
John Kelly, pictured shaking Donald Trump’s hand in July 2017, is reportedly unsure of how to manage Trump’s family members in their access to the president
Kelly, pictured in focus with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Trump to his right, was also reportedly ‘livid’ after learning of Kushner’s meetings with Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democrat Senator Dick Durbin about The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
The trio was meeting to discuss The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a Barack Obama-era protection for undocumented minors.
They were discussing whether or not to extend protections for DACA recipients, known as ‘dreamers’.
Kelly, despite his own support for the matter, had taken a hard stance against immigration because of his role in Donald Trump’s administration. Trump does not support DACA.
The Chief of Staff was left ‘livid’ because the backroom deals were done without his knowledge, three sources told Politico. A White House spokesperson denied the account of events.
Kushner, it was revealed last Sunday, has been corresponding with White House staff using a private email account
Kelly allegedly demanded a meeting with Trump, in which he would have railed against Kushner’s informal but powerful role in the administration. Kushner is married to Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka.
But the meeting never occurred, and Kelly did not raise the matter with Trump, sources tell Politico.
Throughout his presidency, Donald Trump has repeatedly flip-flopped on whether he would repeal it or not.
The Trump administration announced its repeal on September 5. The repeal is set to occur in March 2018.
Meanwhile, a report by the Wall Street Journal alleges that White House Counsel Don McGahn threatened to quit his job this past summer because of the frequent informal meetings between Kushner and Trump.
McGahn was allegedly worried about how these meetings might be used against the president amid the ongoing Russia probe being conducted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
The probe is looking at the extent to which the Russian government interfered in the 2016 Presidential Election and the extent to which members of Trump’s campaign team might have colluded with the foreign nation in the interference.
A White House official also disputed this claim and told the Journal: ‘[McGahn] was focused on implementing the proper processes and structures to protect the White House and its staff, including Jared.’
White House Counsel Counsel Don McGahn (center) reportedly nearly quit Trump’s administration over the informal meetings between Trump and Kushner
Kelly allegedly demanded a meeting with Trump to discuss Kushner’s role in the White House. The meeting never took place
The news comes as Kushner made his way into the national spotlight after a Politico report last Sunday showed that the president’s son-in-law handled business communications via a private email account.
Several email messages were exchanged between President Trump’s son-in-law and fellow staffers regarding matters like ‘media coverage, event planning and other subjects,’ at least four sources told Politico.
Kushner is a senior advisor to Donald Trump. The exact nature of his role in the current presidential administration has not been defined or elucidated in public.