Jared Kushner

Basic facts
Organization:| Donald Trump presidential administration
Role:| Senior advisor to the president
Location:| Washington, D.C.
Education:| •Harvard University
•New York University

Jared Kushner is the CEO of Kushner Companies, a real estate development firm. As of May 2017, he was a senior advisor in the administration of President Donald Trump (R).[1] He maintains a broad portfolio in the administration, including work as the head of the newly created Office of American Innovation, an office within the White House created to improve government operations through private sector methods.[2]

Kushner, who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka, was an informal advisor during Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.[3]

## Contents

* 1 Career
* 1.1 Education
* 1.2 Real estate
* 1.3 Publishing
* 2 Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016
* 2.1 Campaign responsibilities
* 3 Donald Trump presidential transition team
* 3.1 Chris Christie role reduction
* 3.2 Talks with Russian ambassador
* 3.3 Talks with Russian banker
* 4 Donald Trump presidential administration
* 4.1 Federal nepotism law questions concerning appointment
* 4.2 Middle East advisor
* 4.3 LGBT protection executive order
* 4.4 Office of American Innovation
* 4.5 Diplomatic advisor
* 5 See also
* 6 Footnotes

## Career[edit]

### Education[edit]

Kushner, an Orthodox Jew and the grandson of Holocaust survivors, attended the Frisch School, a yeshiva school in Paramus, New Jersey.[4] He went on to graduate from Harvard University in 2003 with a degree in sociology, and in 2007, he earned graduate degrees in law and business administration from New York University.[5]

Journalist Daniel Golden reported details of Kushner's Harvard admission in his 2006 book, The Price of Admission: How America's Ruling Class Buys Its Way into Elite Colleges—and Who Gets Left Outside the Gates. In the book, Golden reported that Kushner's parents had pledged $2.5 million to Harvard before their son's admission; the book also quoted sources suggesting that Kushner had not been admitted on merit.[6]

### Real estate[edit]

Kushner's career in real estate began while he was a college student. He interned at a number of real estate firms, including Square Mile Capital and SL Green Realty. He also bought and managed multi-family properties in Somerville, Massachusetts, with the support of investments from family and friends. Of the experience, Kushner has said, "I'd be in class, and I'd get a call about a broken toilet and have to go work with the super at one of my buildings."[7]

In 2004, Kushner became more involved in the family's real estate firm when his father, Charles Kushner, pleaded guilty to tax evasion, illegal political campaign contributions, and witness tampering.[8] From 2004 to 2007, he worked alongside then-CEO Allan Hammer. In 2008, Kushner, who was the primary owner of Kushner Companies, became the company's CEO.[7][3] In 2014, Kushner and his younger brother Josh launched Cadre, an online real estate investment platform. Cadre's investors at the time included Goldman Sachs, Yuri Milner, and George Soros' private equity firm.[8]

According to the Kushner Companies website, in January 2017, the firm owned 20,000 multi-family apartments as well as 13 million square feet of office, industrial, and retail space across New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, and Illinois.[9] As of December 18, 2016, Forbes reported that the Kushner family had a net worth of "at least $1.8 billion, more than half of which Forbes estimates is held in real estate."[8]

### Publishing[edit]

Jared Kushner served as the publisher for Observer Media from 2006 through 2016.[5]

In 2006, Kushner bought the New York Observer for $10 million.[5][4] According to one Bloomberg Businessweek profile, the Observer was losing around $2 million annually before Kushner purchased the operation. After purchasing the paper, Kushner began to focus on growing the publication's online audience.[10] The Observer ended its print edition in November 2016 and dropped "New York" from its title, reflecting a change from the paper's previous focus on coverage of New York City happenings.[11]

In January 2017, when he was appointed to the Trump administration, Kushner stepped down as publisher of the Observer. Kushner's lawyers told CNN that his shares in the media company would be sold to a Kushner family trust.[12][13]

## Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016[edit]

See also: Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016

During Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, Kushner played an informal but active role in campaign activities. The New York Times described Kushner's involvement, saying, "Mr. Kushner has become involved in virtually every facet of the Trump presidential operation, so much so that many inside and out of it increasingly see him as a de facto campaign manager."[14]

### Campaign responsibilities[edit]

Below is a partial list of Kushner's campaign activities as reported in notable, reliable sources during the campaign.

Data-based campaigning: After Trump secured the Republican nomination, Kushner led the charge to build a database and digital fundraising strategy for the campaign. This effort, called "Project Alamo" within the campaign, grew into what Bloomberg described as a "digital nerve center," in San Antonio, Texas, that collected data and used that data to drive Trump's fundraising, travel, and campaign strategies.[15]

Online and social media: During Trump's primary run, he asked Kushner to take over the campaign's efforts on Facebook. Kushner went on to use social media as part of his overall digital strategy to cut costs associated with traditional ad campaigns.[16]

Middle East and Israel: According to The Washington Post, Kushner took particular interest in issues concerning the Middle East and Israel during the campaign. He helped author a speech that Trump delivered to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and met with Israeli ambassador to the U.S., Ron Dermer.[17][14]

Campaign personnel and nominees: Kushner advised Trump on a number of personnel decisions, including the choice to fire former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and hire Paul Manafort, who served on the campaign until August 2016.[14][18][19] Kushner was also influential in Trump's decision to name Mike Pence as his vice presidential nominee.[20]

## Donald Trump presidential transition team[edit]

See also: Donald Trump presidential transition team

Kushner also served as a member of Trump's presidential transition team. The transition team was a group of around 100 aides, policy experts, government affairs officials, and former government officials who were tasked with vetting, interviewing, and recommending individuals for top cabinet and staff roles in Trump's administration.[21]

### Chris Christie role reduction[edit]

During transition efforts, Kushner continued to advise Trump on personnel. One week after Trump won the election, Chris Christie had been replaced as head of the transition by Vice President Mike Pence. Kushner denied accusations that he was behind a purge of Christie allies from the transition, saying, "Six months ago Governor Christie and I decided this election was much bigger than any differences we may have had in the past, and we worked very well together. ... The media has speculated on a lot of different things, and since I don’t talk to the press, they go as they go, but I was not behind pushing out him or his people.”[22]

### Talks with Russian ambassador[edit]

In December 2016, Kushner and Trump advisor Michael Flynn met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at Trump Tower, a meeting not disclosed until March 2017. According to two May 2017 reports, that meeting was considered of investigative interest to the FBI. In May 2017, The Washington Post reported that Kushner's meeting was an attempt to establish "a secret and secure communications channel between Trump’s transition team and the Kremlin, using Russian diplomatic facilities in an apparent move to shield their pre-inauguration discussions from monitoring."[23] The New York Times, published a report that partially conflicted with the version published in The Washington Post. The New York Times reported, "[T]he idea was to have Mr. Flynn speak directly with a senior military official in Moscow to discuss Syria and other security issues. The communications channel was never set up, the people said."[24]

### Talks with Russian banker[edit]

In December 2016, Kushner also met with Sergey Gorkov, Vladimir Putin's appointee as CEO of the Russian state-owned bank Vnesheconombank. At the time, the bank was under U.S. sanctions as part of the larger U.S. policy surrounding Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea; according to Reuters, the bank was also "implicated in a 2015 espionage case in which one of its New York executives pleaded guilty to spying and was jailed."[25] According to NBC News, the White House characterized the meetings as part of Kushner's work on the transition team, while Gorkov said the meeting was one of many "with a number of representatives of the largest banks and business establishments of the U.S., including Jared Kushner, the head of Kushner Companies."[26]

## Donald Trump presidential administration[edit]

See also: Donald Trump White House staff

On January 9, 2017, NBC News reported that Kushner would be named a senior advisor to the president under Trump.[1] According to the transition team, Kushner was hired to focus primarily on trade policy and the Middle East.[27]

According to The New York Times, Kushner's varied portfolio includes issues under the broad categories of innovation and Middle East peace. However, he is not involved with the legislative process, according to the paper.[28]

### Federal nepotism law questions concerning appointment[edit]

Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee submitted a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice as well as the U.S. Office of Government Ethics with concerns that Kushner's appointment to a White House position would violate federal nepotism and conflict of interest laws. Enacted in 1967, 5 U.S.C. § 3110, the federal anti-nepotism statute, prevents a government official from giving a job "to a civilian position in the agency in which he is serving or over which he exercises jurisdiction or control." The Trump transition team maintained that the law does not apply to the White House because it is not a government agency.[27]

On January 20, 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice found that Trump's hiring of Kushner did not violate federal nepotism laws. One DOJ official described the department's decision, saying, "We believe that the President's special hiring authority in 3 U.S.C. § 105(a) permits him to make appointments to the White House Office that the anti-nepotism statute might otherwise forbid."[29]

### Middle East advisor[edit]

In a November 2016 interview with The New York Times, Trump indicated that he considered Kushner an advisor on policy concerning the Middle East, Israel, and settling the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Trump said, "Jared’s a very smart guy. He’s a very good guy. The people that know him, he’s a quality person and I think he can be very helpful. I would love to be able to be the one that made peace with Israel and the Palestinians. I would love that, that would be such a great achievement. Because nobody’s been able to do it. ... Well, I think he’d be very good at it. I mean he knows it so well. He knows the region, knows the people, knows the players."[30]

### LGBT protection executive order[edit]

According to Politico, Kushner and wife Ivanka were the main influences in convincing the Trump administration to abandon a February 2017 executive order overturning federal protections related to LGBT workplace discrimination for federal contractors. Rather, Kushner and Ivanka helped draft a statement supporting the protections.[31]

### Office of American Innovation[edit]

On March 27, 2017, Trump announced that Kushner would lead the newly created Office of American Innovation, an executive office established in an effort to bring private-sector practices to government administration.[2] The Washington Post reported that the office was created as "an aggressive, nonideological ideas factory capable of attracting top talent from both inside and outside of government, and serving as a conduit with the business, philanthropic and academic communities." Kushner told the paper, "We should have excellence in government. The government should be run like a great American company. Our hope is that we can achieve successes and efficiencies for our customers, who are the citizens."[32]

### Diplomatic advisor[edit]

In April 2017, Kushner traveled to Iraq with Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to express the administration's commitment to the government of Iraq and to the troops stationed there. According to CNN, Kushner was sent "to meet with Iraqi leaders, senior US advisers and visit with US forces in the field to receive an update on counter-ISIS operations."[33]

## See also[edit]

* Donald Trump White House staff
* Donald Trump presidential transition team
* Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Hill, "Kushner to be named 'senior adviser' to Trump," accessed January 9, 2017
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 CNN, "Kushner to lead 'American Innovation' office at White House," March 27, 2017
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 New York Times, "A Conversation With Jared C. Kushner," accessed November 17, 2016
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 New York Times, "Citizen Kushner," accessed January 11, 2017
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 The Sun, "Who is Jared Kushner? Ivanka Trump’s husband and American businessman," accessed November 17, 2016
6. ↑ Washington Post, "Trump’s influential son-in-law went to Harvard. Is this how Jared Kushner got in?" accessed January 11, 2017
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Real Deal: New York Real Estate News, "Jared Kushner, the accidental CEO," accessed January 11, 2017
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Forbes, "Here's How Much Jared Kushner And His Family Are Really Worth," accessed January 11, 2017
9. ↑ Kushner Companies, "About," accessed January 11, 2017
10. ↑ Bloomberg Businessweek, "Jared Kushner's Trump Card," accessed January 11, 2017
11. ↑ New York Times, "New York Observer Ending Print Edition," accessed January 11, 2017
12. ↑ Washington Post, "Jared Kushner is stepping down as publisher of the New York Observer," accessed January 11, 2017
13. ↑ CNN, "Jared Kushner to transfer Observer interest to family trust," accessed January 12, 2017
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 New York Times, "Quiet Fixer in Donald Trump's Campaign: His Son-in-Law, Jared Kushner," accessed January 11, 2017
15. ↑ Bloomberg Businessweek, "Inside the Trump Bunker With Days to Go," accessed January 11, 2017
16. ↑ Business Insider, "Jared Kushner took a very Silicon Valley approach to running the Trump campaign," accessed January 11, 2017
17. ↑ Washington Post, "For Trump son-in-law and confidant Jared Kushner, a long history of fierce loyalty," accessed January 23, 2017
18. ↑ Politico, "Paul Manafort resigns from Trump campaign," accessed January 11, 2017
19. ↑ Washington Post, "Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort resigns," accessed January 11, 2017
20. ↑ CBS News, "Donald Trump offered Chris Christie vice president role before Mike Pence, sources say," accessed January 11, 2017
21. ↑ Fox News, "Who's who in the new Trump transition team line-up," November 11, 2016
22. ↑ Forbes, "Exclusive Interview: How Jared Kushner Won Trump The White House," accessed January 11, 2017
23. ↑ The Washington Post, "Russian ambassador told Moscow that Kushner wanted secret communications channel with Kremlin," May 26, 2017
24. ↑ The New York Times, "Kushner Is Said to Have Discussed a Secret Channel to Talk to Russia," May 26, 2017
25. ↑ Reuters, "Exclusive: Trump son-in-law had undisclosed contacts with Russian envoy - sources," May 27, 2017
26. ↑ NBC News, "Kushner Met With Russian Banker Who Is Putin Crony, Spy School Grad," May 27, 2017
27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 BBC, "Trump role for son-in-law Jared Kushner needs review, Democrats say," accessed January 11, 2017
28. ↑ The New York Times, "Jared Kushner’s Role Is Tested as Russia Case Grows," May 28, 2017
29. ↑ The Hill, "DOJ: Trump hiring Kushner doesn't violate anti-nepotism law," accessed January 23, 207
30. ↑ The New York Times, "Donald Trump’s New York Times Interview: Full Transcript," November 23, 2016
31. ↑ Politico, "Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner worked to sink LGBT order," February 3, 2017
32. ↑ The Washington Post, "Trump taps Kushner to lead a SWAT team to fix government with business ideas," March 26, 2017
33. ↑ CNN, "Jared Kushner travels to Iraq," April 3, 2017

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