Jared Kushner’s powerful, unvetted role in Trump admin foreign policy

CNN reported that Jared Kushner “has been heavily involved in discussions with Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia, about signing agreements that would normalize diplomatic relations with Israel” as well as advising Trump administration officials on those negotiations. 

Kushner and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair participated in a meeting at the White House discussing post-war Gaza plans. 

President Donald Trump mentioned Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner after a reporter asked about the release of Gaza hostages: “my people, Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner was great on this. But they got a lot of people… we got almost all of them out.” 

Kushner and Witkoff had talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York regarding a proposal for ending the war in Gaza.

Kushner met in Oval Office with Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu 

“Inside the Oval Office on Sept. 29, the president’s son-in-law and former adviser stood watch as Trump handed a phone to Netanyahu to call his counterpart in Qatar and apologize for a Sept. 9 missile strike in Doha aimed at Hamas leaders…With the apology delivered, Trump walked into the State Dining Room with Netanyahu a while later to unveil a 20-point peace plan that Kushner also helped craft alongside Witkoff,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

Kushner and Witkoff arrived in Egypt for ceasefire talks

Kushner and Witkoff arrived in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt to continue ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel. Representatives from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey were also present. Kushner and Witkoff presented proposed terms. 

• That same day, with the permission of President Trump, Witkoff and Kushner met with Hamas leaders for 45 minutes to assure them of the agreement.

Witkoff and Kushner met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Cairo. On the same day, they traveled to Israel and met with the Israeli cabinet to discuss the ceasefire deal. A few hours later, cabinet members approved the hostage release deal. Kushner and Witkoff received praise from Israeli PM Netanyahu, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Trump for their role.

• On Oct. 11, Witkoff posted on X: “Admiral Cooper, Jared Kushner and I traveled to Gaza today to verify Israel’s compliance with Phase I of the agreement. We received detailed briefings on security, humanitarian aid, and deconfliction efforts. With continued commitment, peace remains within reach.”
• On Oct. 11, Kushner, Ivanka Trump and Witkoff attended a rally in Tel Aviv celebrating the signing of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which included remarks from Kushner: “I’ve had the great honor for the last ten months of working with Steve very closely, even more so in the last month… And I also have to say working with President Trump on this, his commitment… is unmatched.”
• On Oct. 13, Trump delivered remarks to The Knesset regarding the hostage deal in Jerusalem with Kushner and Ivanka Trump in attendance. 

Kushner and Witkoff were interviewed on 60 Minutes discussing how they approached the ceasefire deal.

Kushner, Witkoff and Vice President J.D. Vance attended security briefings in Israel and attended a press conference at the Civil-Military Coordination Center.

• That same day, Kushner and Witkoff met with recently released hostages in Tel Aviv. 

Kushner and Witkoff met with the Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi and National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi to discuss the Gaza ceasefire and stability in the region. 

Jared Kushner met with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in Jerusalem to continue talks on President Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza. 

Axios reported that Kushner met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia over the weekend to discuss Gaza and other issues. 

NBC News reported that Trump approved a 28-point plan for peace between Russia and Ukraine, formulated in part by Kushner.

Kushner, Witkoff, Rubio and U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll met with a Ukrainian delegation in Switzerland to discuss ending Russia’s war on Ukraine. 

Rubio, Witkoff and Kushner met with a Ukrainian delegation at Witkoff’s Shell Bay Golf and Racket Club in Florida to discuss ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.

“Russian President Vladimir Putin met U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner in the Kremlin on Tuesday for talks on a possible way to end the deadliest European conflict since World War Two.” 

Witkoff and Kushner met with a Ukrainian delegation in Miami to discuss an end to the war in Ukraine, a pathway to stability and post-war reconstruction. The three day negotiation ended with a two hour call from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with Witkoff and Kushner discussing Trump’s proposed peace plan. 

Kushner, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and President Zelenskyy discussed the path to ending the war, post-war reconstruction, and economic recovery in Ukraine during a virtual meeting.

Witkoff posted on X that he and Kushner met President Zelenskyy along with U.S. and Ukrainian delegations in Berlin over two days to discuss “the 20-point plan for peace, economic agendas, and more. A lot of progress was made, and they will meet again tomorrow morning.” 

Kushner, Witkoff and then-White House Senior Advisor Josh Gruenbaum met with delegations from nine different countries for parallel negotiations on Ukraine and Gaza at Witkoff’s Shell Bay Golf and Racket Club in Florida. 

Witkoff, Kushner and Gruenbaum met with Russian Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev over two days in Florida regarding the U.S.-proposed peace plan for Ukraine.

Kushner and Witkoff continued negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine on a phone call with President Zelenskyy and Ukrainian representatives. 

President Trump, Kushner, Witkoff, Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegeseth, and other members of the U.S. government met with President Zelenskyy at Mar-a-Lago to continue talks on ending the war in Ukraine.

Kushner, Witkoff and Rubio met with the parents of the last remaining Israeli hostage. They also joined President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu for lunch followed by a press conference at Mar-a-Lago discussing Gaza and Iran, where Trump named Kushner as one of the ceasefire mediators. 

Kushner, Witkoff and Rubio held a phone call with European leaders, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Secretary to discuss next steps in the European peace process on behalf of President Trump.

Kushner and Witkoff met with French President Emmanuel Macron at the French presidential palace for preparatory talks ahead of the Coalition of the Willing Summit. 

Kushner and Witkoff met with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev to discuss the U.S. plan for peace.

The White House released a statement on President Trump’s comprehensive plan to end the war in Gaza. In this statement, Trump announced Jared Kushner, along with others, as founding executive board members of the newly created Board of Peace. The role of each member is to:

“[O]versee a defined portfolio critical to Gaza’s stabilization and long-term success, including, but not limited to, governance capacity-building, regional relations, reconstruction, investment attraction, large-scale funding, and capital mobilization.”

Kushner attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on behalf of President Trump, where he “laid out an ambitious and highly speculative vision for the future of the Gaza Strip.” Kushner’s presentation “featured slides that depicted gleaming skyscrapers rising on Gaza’s coast and the construction of entirely new cities. The plan would require investment of at least $25 billion…according to the proposal.” 

The Charter of the Board of Peace was formally ratified by President Trump and other world leaders in Davos.

That same day, it was reported that Kushner and Witkoff met with President Putin for more than three hours in Moscow.

Kushner and Witkoff participated in trilateral talks over two days with Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi, UAE. According to Zelenskyy, the talks surrounded “the parameters of ending the war.“ 

Kushner and Witkoff met with Prime Minister Netanyahu in Israel to continue progress talks and implementation of President Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza.

Kushner posted on X about the release of the final Israeli hostage and his role in representing the Trump administration in this quest:

“For the first time since 2014 there are no Israeli hostages held in Gaza. All 20 live hostages and all 28 deceased hostages in Gaza have now been returned home. Under @realDonaldTrump leadership, @SEPeaceMissions and I worked closely with @CIA, @Netanyahu and his team, @IDF, Egypt’s GIS, Turkey, Qatar, and many cooperative Gazans to make possible this unthinkable outcome… We are trying new approaches, hoping to achieve new outcomes. This is an end, but also a new beginning.”

Witkoff posted on X that he, Kushner, Bessent and Gruenbaum met with Russian Special Envoy Dmitriev in Florida to discuss continuing talks on the Ukrainian peace process.

Kushner and Witkoff met with Ukrainian and Russian officials in the UAE for continued trilateral talks on ending the war in Ukraine. 

Kushner, Witkoff and CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper met for nuclear negotiations in Oman with the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghci and his deputies. Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi served as the principal mediator.

On February 7 Witkoff, Kushner and Adm. Cooper visited the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea amid tensions with Iran.

Netanyahu and Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter met Kushner and Witkoff in Washington to discuss regional issues. 

Kushner, Witkoff met with Iranian, Russian and Ukrainian officials in Geneva

“This morning in Geneva, an American delegation led by two of President Trump’s most trusted envoys — his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and… Steve Witkoff — held indirect nuclear talks with Iranian officials… By afternoon, Kushner and Witkoff were sitting down with Russian and Ukrainian leaders in another room in Geneva, attempting to help broker a peace deal.” 

“President Trump met today with his advisers @SteveWitkoff and @jaredkushner and was briefed on the nuclear talks with Iran, the Russia-Ukraine negotiations and the Gaza Board of Peace meeting that will take place tomorrow, per U.S. officials,” according to an Axios reporter’s post on X.

Kushner attended inaugural Board of Peace convening

The Inaugural Board of Peace convening took place at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C. where President Trump states “we’re making Jared [Kushner] an envoy also, envoy of peace.”

Kushner remarked on the inaugural Board of Peace convening via Instagram: “Proud to be helping @potus fulfill the noble goals of the Board of Peace. Let’s get to work…”

Kushner and Witkoff met in Geneva with the foreign ministers of Oman and Iran, Albusaidi and Araghci to continue talks on Iran’s nuclear program. Oman presented Iran’s proposal to Kushner and Witkoff but the talks ended without a deal.

According to an Axios report, “A U.S. official said special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner talk almost every day to Netanyahu, to the director of Mossad David Barnea, and to other Israeli officials — and that regardless of ups and downs in the past, the coordination over the last month was very close.”

Kushner, Witkoff and Gruenbaum met with a Russian delegation at Trump National Doral in Miami, Florida.

Witkoff posted on X that he, Kushner, Gruenbaum and State Department Office of Policy Planning Deputy Director Chris Curran attended a two-day convening in Florida with a Ukrainian delegation “as part of ongoing mediation efforts, with discussions focused on narrowing and resolving remaining items to move closer to a comprehensive peace agreement.” According to Witkoff, day two focused on lasting security efforts and humanitarian aid in the region.

Trump told reporters Kushner and Witkoff held talks the previous day with Iran to negotiate a “total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East.”

Kushner spoke about his diplomatic efforts in Gaza, Russia and Ukraine at the FII Priority Summit in Miami.

Kusher, Witkoff, Senator Lindsey Graham, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy held a phone call discussing security concerns. 

Kushner, Witkoff, Vice President JD Vance and other members of the administration met with representatives from Pakistan and Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan for U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks over the course of two days.

Kushner, Witkoff and Vice President Vance continued negotiations on the phone to continue discussions on ending the war in Iran with the assistance of Pakistani, Egyptian and Turkish mediators. 

Vice President Vance told reporters that he spoke to Kushner and Witkoff about Iran negotiations earlier that morning. 

At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, in response to a question about why he did not attend negotiations with Iran in Pakistan, Rubio testified that Kushner, Witkoff and Vice President Vance “were the team that we sent to Pakistan” and that he “spoke to Mr. Kushner and our negotiating team and Mr. Witkoff on at least six occasions, including twice on a secure line,” during the negotiations. 

Kushner and Witkoff spoke with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy characterized the conversation as “positive.”

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanks President Trump and the “tireless efforts of the United States negotiating team, including J.D. Vance, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, for their invaluable contributions to this achievement” on the Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Iran.

Kushner, Witkoff and Vice President Vance attended the Lake Lucerne Summit for quadrilateral negotiations between the U.S., Iran, Qatar and Pakistan to end the war in Iran and to reach a new nuclear agreement.

Kushner and Witkoff met with Qatari officials including the ruling emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to continue “peace negotiations between the US and Iran and as the countries try to calm tensions over the Strait of Hormuz.” 

Kushner, Witkoff continued conversations with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy over the phone on resolving the conflict and achieving peace in Ukraine, according to a post by Zelenskyy on X. 

Trump announced the release of Robert Gilmin, a U.S. citizen and former Marine, imprisoned by Russia in 2022. Trump thanked his “incredible Team,” including Witkoff and Kushner.

Kushner and fellow members of the Board of Peace met with the Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya in Egypt to push forward the stalled Gaza ceasefire. Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad, Qatari diplomat Ali al-Thawadi and a senior Turkish official also attended the meeting.

Kushner and members of the Board of Peace met with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyanhu in Jerusalem to push forward Israel’s side of the stalled Gaza ceasefire plan.

President Zelenskyy posted on X that he spoke with Kushner and Witkoff where they were informed on “the situation on the battlefield … and about the strikes.” Zelenskyy noted that “Steve and Jared know many details” and thanked them for “work[ing] to make peace our joint achievement.”

Witkoff and Kushner met with Putin for three hours at the Kremlin to discuss U.S. ideas for ending the war in Ukraine. According to a statement from the White House, officials from the National Security Council, State Department and Treasury Department also joined the meeting.

Kushner and Witkoff arrived in Kyiv for diplomatic talks aimed at resuming negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, marking the highest-level visit by a U.S. official to Ukraine in Trump’s second term. Zelenskyy and his senior advisors met twice with Witkoff and Kushner. National security advisors from the U.K., France and Germany joined a third meeting.

Kushner and Witkoff met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Argachi in New York.