First daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner have been staples of Donald Trump’s staff from the beginning of his campaign to now, going into his tenth month in the White House. But it doesn’t mean there is isn’t concern about the roles the President’s family members are playing in the administration. Has the addition of new Chief of Staff John Kelly caused the President to question his daughter and son-in-law’s positions in the administration?
A new Politico article suggests that Kelly is concerned about Kushner’s “free range to function outside his lane.” Kushner and Ivanka are also known to often have “the last word” with the President. It is not just Kelly that is concerned, the Commander in Chief is also starting to think that his family’s role on his staff may be “creating too much noise.”
A source in the article made it clear that the President’s concern isn’t about Kushner and Ivanka’s ability to do their jobs, but rather a desire to protect them from attacks, which have come from everywhere.
The attacks against the couple have included quite a few missteps, including, both Kushner and his wife have been accused of improper contact with Russia and using their personal email for government business. Ivanka also received major backlash for temporarily sitting in for her father during the G20 summit.
She told Fox & Friends in June, “There’s a level of viciousness that I was not expecting. I think some of the distractions and some of the ferocity; I was a little blindsided by on a personal level.”
Now that Kelly oversees the West Wing, things have changed for Kushner and Trump, and they are now focusing on their own issues in their portfolios. Kushner is the head of the Office of American Innovation which makes him the administration’s point of contact with the tech industry, and Ivanka is advocating for women’s issues, including paid family leave and child-care tax credits.
There is more structure with Kelly being Chief of Staff , something that the couple said they wanted, but Kushner is now complaining because his “freewheeling” days are over, reports AOL.com . Kelly told Politico in a statement that Kushner is a “valued member” of the White House staff, but the relationship is still complicated. According to former Clinton Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, dealing with family members is a challenge but you must have discipline.
Tell us! Do you think Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner will continue to have as much pull with President Trump now that Kelly is in office? Let us know in the comments below.
[Featured Image by Win McNamee/Getty Images]