House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries met privately with President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner in recent weeks, prompting criticism from some Democrats ahead of approaching midterm elections, according to reports.
Although Kushner, who served as a senior West Wing adviser during Trump’s first term, does not have a formal role in the current Administration, he has remained involved in Trump’s diplomatic efforts in the Middle East and Russia.
During the meeting, the pair were said to have discussed housing, immigration, and the high cost of living as potential areas of common ground.
The report comes less than three months before the November midterms, when Democrats are favored to retake control of the House from Republicans, who currently hold both chambers of Congress. A Democratic victory would put Jeffries in line to become speaker and give the party greater oversight powers to investigate the Trump Administration.
The meeting—an unusual instance of a top Democrat and a Trump confidant coming together to discuss potential areas of agreement—has drawn scrutiny from some within Democratic circles.
TIME has reached out to the White House and the offices of Kushner and Jeffries for comment. It was first reported Sunday by the New York Times and has since been confirmed by multiple outlets.
Asked whether he supported the meeting during an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said: “I’m 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.”
Tommy Vietor, a former aide to President Barack Obama and now a co-host of the podcast Pod Save America, was far less diplomatic.
“Jared Kushner has no actual government job, he just uses his family connections to get money from Gulf autocrats and fund corrupt deals. The only way Jeffries should work with him is with demands for documents and subpoenas,” Vietor said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday that he first learned of the meeting that same day, when reports began circulating in the media.
“I don’t know what that’s about,” Johnson said on Fox News. “I know Jared has interests and 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.”
Johnson, however, remained confident that Republicans could retain control of the House.
“I’m telling you what, you better not bet against the House Republicans,” he said.
Trump has met with the top Democratic leaders of the House and Senate only once since returning to office, when the President attempted last year to reach an agreement to prevent a government shutdown. Those talks ultimately failed, leading to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
The relationship between Trump, Jeffries, and other members of the Democratic leadership has often been marked by conflict and back-and-forth name-calling.
In late April, Trump called Jeffries a “low IQ person” and attacked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer over their opposition to the Iran war, branding them “traitor Democrats.”
Jeffries, in turn, called Trump the “dumbest President ever” in response to the President’s insults during a press conference.
Trump has continued to attack the top House Democrat as “low IQ” and a “thug” branding him as a “danger” to the country.
More recently, however, Trump’s tone toward Jeffries appears to have softened. In an interview earlier this month with Punchbowl News, the President said he could work with the Democratic leader and described him as a “nice guy.”
“People are harsh on me. I’m harsh on them. It’s part of the world,” Trump said. “I’d probably get along with him very well.”
Since returning to the White House, Trump has often sought to bypass Congress and pursue policy through executive action, from curbing birthright citizenship to the implementation of tariffs.
That dynamic could change if Democrats take control of the House, where Republicans currently hold a slim majority of 218 Republicans to 212 Democrats and one independent.
A Democratic-controlled House would give the party the power to block parts of Trump’s legislative agenda, launch high-profile congressional investigations, issue subpoenas, and initiate impeachment proceedings.
Trump—who was impeached twice during his first term—has urged voters to back Republicans in the midterms, arguing that Democrats would use their power to impeach him again.
“I’m going to be impeached. They’re going to impeach me. They have no idea why,” he told a crowd during a rally in South Carolina last Friday.
The latest Emerson College polling, released August 20, found congressional Democrats leading Republicans by nearly 8 points. A separate Reuters/Ipsos poll released Aug. 17 found Democrats ahead by 5 points. All 435 House seats are up for election in November.
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