Jared Kushner meets with Democratic leader Jeffries with House control
at stake in November
[August 24, 2026]
By LISA MASCARO
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries and President
Donald Trump's son-in-law and outside adviser Jared Kushner met
privately recently in New York, a signal that the White House is seeking
ways to work with Democrats if they wrest majority control from
Republicans in the midterm elections.
The meeting, first reported Sunday by The New York Times, touched on
issues ranging from housing, immigration to the high costs of living.
People in the United States are struggling under inflationary prices
that Democrats blame on Republicans, alongside Trump, for failing to get
under control.
Kushner suggested that Jeffries, who is in line to become House speaker
if Democrats regain power in November, meet with White House chief of
staff Susie Wiles as a follow-up.
Jeffries, in a statement Sunday, did not mention the private
conversation but said the Republican administration needed to drop the
GOP's “my-way-or-the-highway” approach that “has failed the American
people.”
“To stop the madness, we have repeatedly made clear that an extremist
approach will not work and will be met with forceful opposition," the
New York congressman said. "The question is whether Republicans will
join us.”
The meeting shows the depth of Republican Party angst over losing their
congressional majority, particularly the House, and the need to make
inroads with the opposing party as the White House seeks to stem any
potential political fallout on the president.
If Democrats retake power, the White House can expect an aggressive
oversight agenda into what Jeffries has called the “crooks” in the
administration, with the threat of impeachment among the many tools at
the party's disposal.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a close ally of Trump, bristled Sunday when
asked about the meeting. He minimized the role that Kushner, who he said
“hedges his bets,” plays in the White House.
“I’m telling you what, you better not bet against the House
Republicans,” Johnson, R-La., told Fox News Channel’s “The Sunday
Briefing."
“I don’t know what that’s about," Johnson said. "I know Jared has
interests in lots of other things going on. He’s not really directly
involved in the admin, at least in the day-to-day in the White House.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment. A
representative for Kushner also did not respond.
Kushner is a familiar Trump emissary to Democrats
Jeffries and Kushner are not strangers.
The New Yorkers allied during the first Trump administration on landmark
legislation to allow sentencing flexibility for certain drug offenses as
a way to curtail lengthy terms in the federal prison system.
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While not necessarily close, the two have maintained a relationship
despite the repeated attacks Trump has leveled against Jeffries and
the Democratic leader's responses. In Trump's second term, Kushner
has an oversize role despite having no formal position in the White
House. He serves as an outside adviser and envoy, particularly
shuttling to foreign diplomatic missions as the U.S. war against
Iran drags into its sixth month.
Trump has only met with Jeffries once since the president returned
to the White House, taunting the House leader and Senate Democratic
leader Chuck Schumer of New York with red “Make America Great Again”
2028 caps on the desk in front of them in the Oval Office — a nod to
Trump's toying with an unconstitutional third term in office.
After that fall meeting, Trump posted a fake image of Schumer with
Jeffries wearing a sombrero with a handlebar mustache in what was
widely viewed as a racist trope as he mocked the Democrats before
what became the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history.
Trump has been able to alternately ignore the Congress as he relies
on the sheer force of executive power to implement his priorities or
to pressure the Republicans in the House and Senate, when needed, to
fall in line behind the White House, particularly to confirm
controversial Cabinet nominees.
All that is likely to change if Democrats control either chamber,
with lawmakers eager for Congress to flex their own power as a
coequal branch of government more willing to hold the White House in
check.
Republicans and Democrats race for power in midterms
House Republicans are counting on Trump's popularity among their
core voters as they struggle to hold onto majority control, with
Johnson believing the GOP will defy history that tends to reward the
challengers in midterms and punish the party in power.
The House GOP has a slim majority. Control will likely be won — or
lost — in a handful of battleground districts as Democrats put
forward candidates in what they hope will be something of a repeat
of 2018, when they swept to power riding a wave of voter unrest
during Trump's first term.
While the House is most at risk for Republicans this year, he
narrowly split Senate is also increasingly in play. GOP strategists
worry about an enthusiasm gap on their side as Democrats appear more
eager to head to the polls.
At the same time, Democrats are nominating outsider candidates, some
aligned with socialist agendas over establishment backed candidates,
in a sign of voter unrest with the status quo.
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Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price contributed to this
report.
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