Jared Kushner Brags He’s ‘First Among Equals’ In Trump White House

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner Image by Getty Images

By Daniel J. Solomon April 17, 2017

Jared Kushner has reportedly bragged about being the “first among equals” on the White House staff, a boast that seems borne out by his growing portfolio and by President Trump’s tepid comments about rival Steve Bannon.

Kushner is married to Trump’s flesh and blood – and that seems to be giving the son-in-law and senior adviser confidence in his bitter fight over control of the White House with the chief strategist.

“Anybody thinking they are going to win a fight against the family is not very smart,” one unnamed source told Vanity Fair.

“You can’t compare family members to other staffers,” another source said. “You aren’t going to fire your son-in-law or your daughter.”

That pecking order appears to be reflected in whose office is where. According to the magazine, Kushner occupies a space directly next to the Oval Office, with Bannon one spot over.

Bannon and Kushner have been in a spat over the direction of the administration, with Kushner favoring more traditional economic policies and a moderate social agenda, while Bannon continues to champion his a nationalist program that would clamp down on free trade and push more radical social policies.

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at solomon@forward.com or on Twitter, @DanielJSolomon

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.

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