Hakeem Jeffries’ private meeting with Jared Kushner raises eyebrows

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has sparked skepticism among Democrats and others after The New York Times reported that he met privately with Jared Kushner in New York City in recent weeks.

“Jared Kushner has no actual government job he just uses his family connections to get money from gulf autocrats and fund corrupt deals,” “Pod Save America” co-host Tommy Vietor, a former White House and National Security Council spokesman in the Obama administration, posted on X. “The only way @RepJeffries should work with him is with demands for documents and subpoenas.”

The confab between the unlikely pair comes just two months ahead of the midterm elections, with Democrats running competitive races across the country and expressing optimism they’ll win back control of Congress — which would give them the power to investigate Trump’s actions and policies since returning to the White House.

Such probes would also likely target the Trump family’s finances.

The Democratic leader and the president’s son-in-law, a top outside adviser to Trump, discussed “potential areas of common ground,” including housing and the cost of living, The Times, citing five people with knowledge of the meeting, reported.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that he’s “in favor of people meeting with whoever they want, to discuss ideas. But it’s one thing to have a meeting. It’s another thing to see something real come out of that.”

The Maryland Democrat called the Trump administration “lawless.”

Jeffries issued a statement, shared with MS NOW, in which he stopped short of acknowledging that he met with Kushner but said, “In every conversation that we have with the Trump administration, we will continue to make it explicitly clear that the affordability crisis is not a hoax and nothing short of transformational policy change is acceptable. We are fighting for an affordable America. The question is whether Republicans will join us.”

Jeffries has been a leading vocal critic of Trump. But his meeting with Kushner didn’t sit well with the so-called Never Trump resistance.

“Make this make sense,” former GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger wrote on social media, tagging Jeffries in his post.

Kushner, who is married to Ivanka Trump, is no longer a formal adviser to the president. But he has been a key negotiator in international affairs pertaining to Ukraine, Iran and Gaza. He serves on his father-in-law’s Board of Peace.

He has been criticized for profiting from relationships with foreign nations in this role. Democrats, led by Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., have been investigating Kushner — to the extent that they can, lacking subpoena power.

Former GOP political strategist Tim Miller, host of “The Bulwark Daily” podcast, said on X, “The only good reason I can imagine for a Jeffries meeting with Kushner is to personally deliver a subpoena for his testimony.”

MS NOW has reached out to the White House for comment on the reported meeting.

Current Republican leaders, meanwhile, appeared less concerned by Jeffries and Kushner holding a private meeting.

“I know Jared is a smart guy and he hedges his bets, but I’m telling you what: You better not bet against the House Republicans,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said, adding that he’s confident his party will maintain the majority in the elections, which he characterized as a choice “between common sense and crazy.”

Nora McKee contributed to this report.

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