Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur)

Fate of ‘Javanka’ in White House uncertain as roles cut

- Associated Press letters@hindustant­imes.com

They spent their first year in Washington as an untouchabl­e White House power couple, commanding expansive portfolios, outlasting rivals and enjoying unmatched access to the president. But Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump have undergone a swift and stunning reckoning of late, their powers restricted, their enemies emboldened and their future in the West Wing uncertain.

Kushner, long the secondmost powerful man in the West Wing, is under siege. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law has lost influentia­l White House allies.

He remains under the shadow of the Russia probe and has seen his business dealings come under renewed scrutiny. He has been stripped of his top security clearance, raising questions how he can successful­ly advance his

WASHINGTON:

ambitious agenda — including achieving Mideast peace, a goal that has eluded presidents for generation­s. Kushner’s most powerful patron, the president himself, has wavered recently on whether his daughter and son-inlaw belong in the White House anymore.

A frustrated Trump has griped about the wave of bad headlines generated by probes into Kushner’s business dealings and the status of his security clearance, according to two people familiar with the president’s thinking.

The president also has wondered aloud if the couple would be better off returning home to New York.

 ?? AP FILE ?? Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner
AP FILE Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner

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