Mike Johnson Tries To Distance Kushner From Trump After Secret Meeting With Jeffries

House Speaker Mike Johnson tried to downplay reports of a secret meeting between House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Jared Kushner, putting distance between President Donald Trump and his son-in-law by stressing the latter does not work for the administration in any official capacity.

"I don't know what that's about. I know Jared has interest in lots of other things going on," the Louisiana Republican told Peter Doocy of the reported meeting on Fox News' "The Sunday." "He's not really directly involved in the admin, at least in the day-to-day in the White House."

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The New York Times reported Sunday that Kushner and the Democratic leader recently met in private to discuss areas of common ground, despite Jeffries and his party continuing to publicly spar with Republicans and the president 10 weeks before the midterms.

"Throughout this Congress, Republicans have adopted a my-way-or-the-highway approach to governing that has failed the American people," Jeffries told HuffPost on Sunday. "To stop the madness, we have repeatedly made clear that an extremist approach will not work and will be met with forceful opposition."

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The alleged meeting suggested that some of Trump's allies are bracing for Democrats to retake the House in November's election, putting Jeffries in line to replace Johnson as speaker. 

"The American people want bold change and that's what House Democrats will deliver," Jeffries said before adding, "We are fighting for an affordable America. The question is whether Republicans will join us."

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Republicans in Congress have so far refused to hold Trump accountable for his power grabs, making it virtually impossible to pass bipartisan legislation that gets signed by the president. Despite struggling in recent polls, the GOP will still retain its majority in the lower chamber, Johnson said.

"It would be helpful to get [the Iran war] resolved in the next 73 days, but if it's not, we're still going to win," the speaker told Fox News.

Unlike Trump's first term, Kushner does not currently hold an official government position in the administration. The president's son-in-law has still, however, served as a top outside adviser and Trump's shadow foreign envoy leading major negotiations for Iran, Gaza and Ukraine. 

Kushner told allies to look to Jeffries if they want to accomplish any bipartisan efforts in Congress, according to the Times.

"I know Jared, he's a smart guy, and he hedges bets," Johnson said. "But I'll tell you what, you better not bet against House Republicans."

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