Rep. Hakeem Jeffries defends Jared Kushner meeting, vows to fight Trump

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Aug 25, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries Tuesday defended his recent meeting with Jared Kushner as a way to explore possible bipartisan cooperation even as he vowed to keep fighting aggressively against President Donald Trump’s right-wing agenda and to hold the “Trump cartel” accountable for alleged corruption.

While the sit-down produced no concrete results, the House Democratic leader said it’s part of his job to meet with White House officials and potential back channels like the president’s son-in-law to see if there is room for compromise on some issues that could benefit the American people.

“It was a just high-level topical conversation, particularly focused on affordability ... a foundation for the type of thing that perhaps can be built upon moving forward,” Jeffries told CNN. “We have a responsibility to solve problems. Sometimes that means meeting with people on the other side of the aisle.”

Jeffries said he can’t afford to take a my-way-or-the-highway approach to governing, especially since the GOP holds all levers of power in Trump’s Washington, D.C.

“I’m not only here to make a point,” he said. “I’m here to make a difference.”

He stressed that the sit-down would not win Kushner or any one else a reprieve from potential investigations into what Jeffries called the rampant corruption and cronyism of the Trump White House.

Democrats will hold the power to launch probes of Trump and his inner circle if they win control of Congress in the upcoming midterm congressional elections. Jeffries is in line to become the first Black House Speaker if Democrats flip the House.

“Nobody’s getting a pass because we’re determined to make sure, beginning on Day One, that we hold every single member of the Trump cartel accountable,” he said. “We’re going to hold the crooks accountable.”

Jeffries met privately with Kushner, a powerful but informal adviser to Trump, several weeks ago. He confirmed the meeting after the New York Times first revealed it last weekend.

The two men had forged a cordial relationship during Trump’s first administration when Kushner was an official top aide to his father-in-law.

Some Democrats, especially progressives and scorched-earth partisans, criticized Jeffries for taking the meeting, saying he should be focused solely on rallying opposition to Trump’s unpopular policies in the run-up to the midterms.

_____