First daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner are apparently not looking to leave D.C. quite yet, despite increasing scrutiny into any actions they may have taken to aid the Russian government’s attempts to meddle in the 2016 election and the public’s continuing confusion as to what their official jobs at the White House entail.
“We’re here to stay,†Kushner told the Washington Post in a report published on Saturday. “At the current moment, we’re charging forward. My wife asked me the other day if we should be looking at new houses, so that’s a good sign.â€
The couple had reportedly planned on living in the capital for six months, then deciding whether they should remain or return to their previous lives in New York City.
Kushner was rumored to have been embroiled in a feud with Steve Bannon, President Trump’s former chief strategist, for most of the administration’s first year in office. Bannon was fired and returned to right-wing media outlet Breitbart news as executive chairman in August, which the New York Times reported has led to Kushner helping “stabilize the White House, allowing him to focus on his own projects rather than feeling compelled to weigh in on so many different issues.”
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Bannon wasn’t the only person rumored to feel animosity toward the president’s son-in-law. In addition to other White House staffers, the president himself was reported to have felt contempt for Kushner, feeling that Mueller’s investigation had heated up thanks to Kushner’s missteps. In the summer, Kushner denied having colluded with Russian officials after several reports revealed that he had been one of several people in the Trump camp to be present during a June 2016 meeting with a Kremlin-connected lawyer. While denying any wrongdoing, Kushner appeared to distance himself from Donald Trump Jr.’s actions in setting up the conversation.
The role of Trump’s son-in-law is reported to have been diminished after the hiring of John Kelly as White House Chief of Staff in July. As a condition to his being hired, Kelly is said to have demanded that Kushner’s place in the hierarchy be lowered from reporting directly to the president to reporting to Kelly. Though Kelly denied it on Monday, three White House advisers told the Times that the chief of staff had previously discussed the possibility of Ivanka and Jared leaving the White House by the end of the year.
Kushner insists that his role in the administration is centered on efforts to bring peace to the Middle East, Mexico, China, and Canada, as well as administrating the Office of American Innovation.
As for Ivanka, the first daughter is an unpaid adviser to her father. She has said her mission is to push women’s equality, particularly in the workforce. Despite holding an official White House position, though, she has repeatedly insisted she wants to “stay out of politics.”
Neither Kushner nor Ivanka has so far accomplished anything other than committing public gaffes. For now, it looks like they plan on continuing.
