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House minority leader is under attack from his own party for ‘affordability crisis’ meeting with president’s son-in-law
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US news — Edward Helmore
Hakeem Jeffries , the Democratic minority leader in the US House of Representatives, has defended his meeting with Jared Kushner and claimed it was arranged at the request of Donald Trump ’s son-in-law.
Jeffries, who has come under attack from Democrats since the New York Times reported on Sunday that the two met privately to discuss common ground on issues like housing, immigration and the high cost of living, said he agreed to the meeting “to discuss the affordability crisis” in the US.
In an X post on Monday , Jeffries insisted: “No one from the Trump cartel is getting a pass.”
“I shouldn’t have to say it, but I am. No one is going to get a pass,” he said. “We’re going to follow the facts, apply the law and be guided by the constitution beginning on day one. And hold the crooks accountable.”
Jeffries appeared to be referring to actions planned by Democrats should they retake control of US Congress in November’s midterm elections.
But in meeting with Kushner – who serves as an envoy for the Trump administration, working on conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and Iran – Jeffries provoked a response from Democrats and Republicans alike.
Related: Democrats incredulous over Hakeem Jeffries and Jared Kushner meeting
Tommy Vietor, a former Obama aide and co-host of Pod Save America, criticized Kushner, noting that he had “no actual government job” and claiming he “just uses his family connections to get money from Gulf autocrats and fund corrupt deals”.
Former Clinton strategist James Carville said in an “urgent message to Hakeem Jeffries” that the House minority leader had no business meeting with Kushner. A more appropriate response than meeting to discuss affordability, Carville suggested, would be to “drag his ass” before a congressional committee and grill him on his “backdoor-dealing” with other figures in Trump’s orbit.
The Trump administration, family members and cronies “have no idea what they’re doing”, Carville added. “They’re making every backdoor bullshit deal they can. And we don’t meet with them. Don’t meet with them.”
New York City’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, who opposed a primary challenge to Jeffries’ Brooklyn seat by the city councilman Chi Ossé, was asked if he would still support the representative as House majority leader if Democrats take back the House in November. “I continue to support Congressman Jeffries and his bid to become the leader,” Mamdani said.
Republicans have mostly been more circumspect about the meeting. “I don’t know what that’s about,” the House speaker, Mike Johnson, told Fox News’s Peter Doocy on Sunday. “I know Jared has interest in lots of other things going on.”
“He’s not really directly involved in the admin, at least in the day-to-day in the White House,” Johnson added.
In an earlier response to news of the meeting, Jeffries said that he was looking “to stop the madness”, adding that Democrats “have repeatedly made clear that an extremist approach will not work and will be met with forceful opposition”.
Jeffries, who has come under attack from Democrats since the New York Times reported on Sunday that the two met privately to discuss common ground on issues like housing, immigration and the high cost of living, said he agreed to the meeting “to discuss the affordability crisis” in the US.
This report is published with credit to theguardian.com. Full available text from the wire is above. Read on theguardian.com →
Source: theguardian.com · Edward Helmore. Published 25 Aug 2026, 06:42 pm.
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