Washington: As the dawn rose on President Donald Trump’s second term, one key figure from his first administration stood back, content to focus on his personal business interests and not retake a formal government role.
Now, nearly a year into Trump 2.0, Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has been drawn back into the foreign policy fold and is taking a greater role in delicate peace negotiations. Talks had initially been led almost solo by special envoy Steve Witkoff, a real estate mogul who had no government experience before this year.
The shift reflects a sense among Trump’s inner circle that Kushner, who has diplomatic experience, complements Witkoff’s negotiating style and
can bridge seemingly intractable differences to close a deal, according to several current and former administration officials who, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the internal deliberations. That role was on display this weekend as Kushner and Witkoff hosted Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev in Miami for talks on the latest proposals to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, and they also met with Turkish and Qatari officials to discuss the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza as they look to implement the second phase of Trump’s ceasefire plan.
The lengthy session Saturday with Dmitriev followed several weeks of shuttle diplomacy, with Witkoff and Kushner meeting most recently with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and Ukrainian and European diplomats in Germany.
The American envoys were set to hold further talks with Dmitriev on Sunday, according to a White House official.
Witkoff, a longtime pal of Trump’s, is seen by some inside the administration as an oversized character who has travelled the world for diplomatic negotiations on his private jet and does not miss an opportunity to publicly praise the president for his foreign policy acumen, the officials say.