House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries has alternated between being respected by his fellow liberals, such as by standing up for the Affordable Care Act, and being blasted by them, such as by insufficiently emphasizing President Donald Trump’s in-office profiteering.
Now a former Republican political strategist is accusing Jeffries of potentially selling out Democrats through his once-secret meeting with Trump’s son-in-law and unofficial adviser, Jared Kushner.
“In the meeting, apparently, Jared Kushner made the point that it would be a good idea to open up a relationship between Hakeem Jeffries, who may soon be the Speaker of the House, and Susie Wiles, the White House Chief of Staff — because, according to The New York Times, which keyed us in on Jared’s thinking, the most stable and reasonable people in the White House and in Congress are Susie Wiles and Hakeem Jeffries,” Steve Schmidt, who previously was a top adviser to President George W. Bush, said on his podcast on Monday.
Schmidt then elaborated on why this is a problem.
“Here’s the thing: Susie Wiles is a staffer, an employee of Donald Trump’s. Hakeem Jeffries would be a constitutional officer,” Schmidt argued. “His peer is not the White House Chief of Staff — it’s the President of the United States.”
He added, “Finally, what the Democratic Party must be for in this election — though the means of achieving it may well run through the keyhole of ‘Donald Trump has made everything more expensive’ — is the restoration of the American Constitution. Jared Kushner is under congressional investigation, and the incoming chair of the Judiciary Committee has made clear that Jared Kushner’s financial entanglements, stretching from one end of the earth to the other while he functions as shadow Secretary of State, raking in billions from Arab potentates, are going to be scrutinized.”
Schmidt then speculated that Jeffries would likely not have asked Kushner about his business deals with Saudi Arabia, Albania and the UAE, even as he helps shape American foreign policy from Israel to Ukraine.
“Jared Kushner, it seems, has not and will not appear before Congress, but the Democratic leader thinks it’s okay to hole up with him in Manhattan for some 80 minutes,” Schmidt continued. “It is a first-order betrayal, a staggering lack of judgment, and quite possibly a fundamental disqualification for Hakeem Jeffries.”
Schmidt even mentioned Jeffries’ seeming double-standard in terms of how he treats Trump versus how he treats a member of his own party, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
“He is a man who would not meet with the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City but has no problem holing up for a few hours with Jared,” Schmidt said. “Again — Jared does not work in the White House. Jared is not a member of Congress. Jared has no official role.”
He concluded, “Hakeem Jeffries’ lack of judgment in holding this meeting truly is shocking. And whatever else may be required of him, explaining it clearly, directly, and unequivocally — making clear what did and did not happen in that meeting — is his highest priority. Because what he just did is light the bonds of trust that he hopes to have, and needs to have, with the American people — including this one — on fire.”