House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner reportedly met in private to identify bipartisan issues as Democrats aim to retake control of the House in November.
The pair recently met to discuss housing, immigration, and cost of living as “potential areas of common ground” between House Democrats and the Trump administration, according to a New York Times report published Sunday morning.
The private meeting, the space for which was set up by a mutual friend of the two men, was held somewhere in New York City. The New York Times, citing a source, reported the rare engagement was meant for Jeffries and Kushner to catch up. They once worked together on a criminal justice bill in Congress during President Donald Trump’s first term.
Despite representing parties ideologically opposite to one another, Jeffries and Kushner have maintained a professional relationship and stayed in touch for years.
During the meeting, Kushner reportedly suggested Jeffries meet with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles as a way to gain the president’s attention.
Though Trump and Jeffries frequently feud in public, Kushner has said the New York Democrat is essential to getting anything bipartisan done in Congress. Trump’s son-in-law believes Jeffries and Wiles are the most serious representatives of their respective sides.
The House minority leader appears open to working with the administration as long as it comes closer to his party’s stance on affordability and cost of living.
“Throughout this Congress, Republicans have adopted a my-way-or-the-highway approach to governing that has failed the American people,” Jeffries said in a statement to the New York Times. “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.”
TRUMP SAYS HE COULD WORK WITH JEFFRIES IF DEMOCRATS RETAKE MAJORITY: ‘HE’S A NICE GUY’
As the midterm elections approach, the Democratic Party intends to secure a House majority that could undermine the Republican administration’s agenda. Republicans hold a narrow majority in both chambers of Congress, but there is a higher chance the majority party will lose control of the House than the Senate.
If Democrats retake control of the House, Jeffries would be the first in line to replace Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). Jeffries has been nominated for speaker multiple times since 2023, but he has never been able to secure the position because his party has been in the minority for the past three years.