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Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will not return to the White House in the new administration but could advise on Middle East policy, according to people familiar with the matter.
Kushner was a senior adviser to the president-elect during his last term and played a key role negotiating the Abraham Accords, which established diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab states, including the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.
The next Trump administration is expected to try to increase the number of Arab states with diplomatic ties to Israel, with Saudi Arabia being the ultimate prize.
Kushner and his wife, Trump’s daughter Ivanka, were central figures in the former president’s administration and have been living in Miami since he left office.
Kushner in 2021 founded a $3bn investment fund, Affinity Partners, which is financed almost entirely by overseas investors, with significant contributions from Gulf sovereign wealth funds.
The Senate finance committee has been investigating the company and the fees it charges to foreign clients. In a September letter Democratic senator Ron Wyden raised concerns that Kushner’s fundraising and real estate deals “give foreign governments leverage over the Trump family”.
Kushner has denied accusations of conflicts of interest and said his company adheres to all relevant regulations.
Trump allies expect that Kushner will play an advisory role on the next administration’s Middle East policy, though it could depend on the final make-up of the team. He has maintained close ties with senior officials in the Gulf and in Israel.
Trump’s transition team has been looking to tap a senior national security official to work on Middle East issues — potentially with Kushner’s input.
Two people under consideration, according to a person familiar with the matter, are former senior National Security Council official Victoria Coates and Miguel Correa, a retired major general who worked with Kushner on the Abraham Accords and was also US defence attaché in Abu Dhabi.
The transition team has also been assembling shortlists for top national security jobs in the next administration. Richard Grenell, Trump’s former ambassador to Germany, is a contender to be secretary of state or national security adviser. Senator Bill Hagerty, former ambassador to Japan, and former national security adviser Robert O’Brien are also potential choices.
Brian Hook, the Trump administration’s former envoy on Iran, is leading the transition at the state department, according to people familiar with the matter.
Kash Patel, a former senior defence official, is also expected to have a senior national security role, while Congressman Mike Waltz and former secretary of state Mike Pompeo are among the top candidates to lead the Pentagon.
During his father-in-law’s last administration, Kushner played a central role in drawing up the Trump Middle East peace plan, which attempted to solve the decades-long conflict but was criticised for supporting Israeli demands while failing to satisfy Palestinian aspirations for an independent state. It was immediately rejected by the Palestinians.
Hook, who also worked on the Abraham Accords, described Jared’s work on the plan as “important” in an interview with CNN on Thursday.
“If you look at the plan that Jared put forward during the first term, that has all of the elements” that Saudi officials have asked for, including a path to a Palestinian state, Hook said.
He added: “I’m confident that that sort of thinking and working with the Palestinians and the Israelis, as much as circumstances will allow, are going to do a lot.”
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