Dem Knives Are Out For Hakeem Jeffries After Secret Jared Kushner Meeting

Democrats are angry with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) after he privately met with President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner to discuss potential areas of cooperation.

Former Obama aide Tommy Vietor blasted Jeffries over the meeting, arguing that Kushner should be the target of congressional scrutiny rather than an ally.

“Jared Kushner has no actual government job. He just uses his family connections to get money from Gulf autocrats and fund corrupt deals,” Vietor said. “The only way Jeffries should work with him is with demands for documents and subpoenas.”

Democratic pundit Jennifer Welch was even more direct.

“I don’t want to work with fascists. I don’t want to collaborate with fascists,” she said. 

Mehdi Hasan, founder and editor-in-chief of the left-wing news outlet Zeteo, also criticized the meeting.

“This is just pathetic stuff from the House Democratic leader,” he said.

The unusual meeting was held in a private space in New York City, according to The New York Times. Described as a “catch-up,” the conversation reportedly covered housing, immigration, the rising cost of living, and other issues on which the two might agree. They also discussed a potential meeting between Jeffries and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.

Kushner and Jeffries have known each other for years and worked together on criminal justice reform during Trump’s first term. Kushner, who does not hold an official position in the current administration but remains an outside adviser to Trump, has reportedly told other Trump advisers that Jeffries represents the best path toward bipartisan cooperation in Congress, while Wiles is the best person to facilitate those efforts in the West Wing.

The meeting comes as Jeffries faces pressure from his own party following a string of primary victories by Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates.

The DSA has directly targeted Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

“Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries have failed to meet the moment and mount a credible defense against Trump,” the organization states on its website. “This is no surprise from the party that handed the White House to the Republicans, campaigning on a failed status quo instead of fighting to raise wages and stop price gouging. To beat fascism, we need socialism.” 

The hostility appears to be mutual, with Jeffries stating earlier this month, “I don’t support the DSA agenda, as has been articulated by the DSA itself.”

Jeffries has rejected calls to abolish ICE, instead advocating aggressive reform. He also opposes defunding the police and Medicare for All, a key leftist policy championed by Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who defeated establishment Democrat Rep. Haley Stevens.

Cygnal pollster Brent Buchanan argues Republicans have a way to blunt that momentum, portraying Jeffries’s meeting with Kushner as proof that Democratic warnings about Trump being an existential threat are overblown. 

“Their House leader spent an afternoon looking for space to deal with the president’s son-in-law. Republicans should make sure every Democratic voter in the country knows that meeting happened,” Buchanan said. “The party’s moderate wing has stopped voting for something and started voting against someone. A leader who sits down to negotiate takes the emergency away, and the emergency is the anger that gets those voters to the polls.”

Democratic socialists have gained ground by defeating establishment Democrats in several recent primaries. Claire Valdez and Darializa Chevalier unseated incumbents in New York City, while Melat Kiros won in Colorado and Angie Nixon prevailed in Florida’s Democratic primary.

Some Republicans have openly welcomed the DSA’s success, arguing that socialist nominees will be easier to defeat in general elections. One Trump adviser called Nixon’s victory a win for Republicans.

“We couldn’t have picked a better candidate,” the adviser said. “I wish we could take credit for secretly funding her, but this wasn’t us.”

President Trump similarly called El-Sayed’s victory in Michigan “great news” for the Republican Party.