By House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has spent much of the summer promising voters that Democrats will confront President Donald Trump and “hold the crooks accountable” if they retake the House.
Behind the scenes, however, Jeffries is also keeping a line of communication open to Trump’s inner circle.
Jeffries recently met privately with Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and longtime adviser, for a wide-ranging conversation about areas where a future Democratic House might be able to work with the administration.
The meeting took place in New York City at a private location arranged by a mutual friend, according to reports. The two discussed housing, immigration and the rising cost of living, among other subjects.
Neither Jeffries nor Kushner has publicly discussed the meeting in detail.
The conversation is particularly notable because of its timing. Democrats are increasingly confident that they can capture the House in November, a result that would almost certainly make Jeffries speaker and give his party control of congressional committees with the power to investigate Trump, his family and his administration.
Some of the Democrats positioned to take over those committees are already planning for that possibility.
Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, who could become chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has said Democrats would investigate alleged “systems of bribery, kickback and financial corruption” involving Trump and his administration. Rep. Robert Garcia of California, who is positioned to lead the Oversight Committee, has likewise been preparing an aggressive oversight agenda.
Jeffries, meanwhile, has made accountability a central part of the Democrats’ midterm message.
“We’re all committed to holding the crooks accountable and dealing with the rampant corruption that is undermining the Congress’ ability and our government’s ability to actually deliver for hardworking American taxpayers,” Jeffries said last month.
That makes his quiet conversation with Kushner an intriguing counterpoint to the increasingly hostile public rhetoric surrounding the midterms.
Trump has repeatedly attacked Jeffries, including calling him a “low IQ thug” and mocking his intelligence. Jeffries has responded by portraying Trump’s administration as corrupt and promising that a Democratic majority would aggressively investigate misconduct.
Yet both sides appear to recognize that they may soon have to deal with one another.
Jeffries and Kushner already have a history of working together. During Trump’s first administration, the two collaborated on criminal justice reform, including legislation that eventually became the First Step Act.
Their latest discussion was described by one person familiar with it as partly a chance to catch up. Kushner also reportedly suggested that Jeffries speak with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, potentially creating a more direct channel between the Democratic leader and the administration.
Kushner remains deeply involved in Trump’s orbit, particularly in foreign policy, despite spending much of the second Trump administration outside the traditional White House staff structure. He has participated in major diplomatic negotiations and remains one of the president’s most trusted advisers.
Speaker Mike Johnson dismissed the significance of the Jeffries-Kushner meeting Sunday, saying he did not know its details and noting that Kushner was not involved in the administration’s day-to-day White House operations.
Jeffries, for his part, did not directly confirm the meeting when asked about it. His office instead emphasized that the Democratic leader is willing to discuss policies aimed at lowering costs for Americans.
His liberal allies were furious:
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 @RepJeffries should work with him is with demands for documents and subpoenas. https://t.co/5dBHVHW0CT
— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) August 23, 2026
The only meeting Hakeem Jeffries should be having with Jared Kushner is to tell him he’ll be subpoenaed by the House for a corruption investigation on day one of Democratic control of the House.
This is just pathetic stuff from the House Dem leader. https://t.co/hy6lq7vYMk
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) August 23, 2026
In public, Democrats are preparing voters for confrontation. In private, the man who could soon become speaker is already talking with one of Trump’s closest advisers about what governing after November might actually look like. You can guess which one they actually believe.
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