Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, is resisting giving up his access to highly classified information, clashing with the White House chief of staff, White House officials and others briefed on the matter told The New York Times.
Kushner is one of dozens of White House officials operating under interim security clearances because of issues raised by the FBI during their background checks, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the clearances. The practice has drawn added scrutiny because of Rob Porter, the former staff secretary who resigned under pressure this month after domestic abuse allegations against him became public.
In a memo issued Friday, Chief of Staff John Kelly said he would revoke top clearances for anyone whose background check had been pending since June 1 or earlier, and review such clearances every month thereafter.
Kushner, frustrated about the security clearance issue and concerned that Kelly has targeted him personally with the directive, has told colleagues at the White House that he is reluctant to give up his high-level access, the officials said.
The White House maintains that Kushner's work will be unaffected by the change, but won't explain why.
"Nothing that has taken place will affect the valuable work that Jared is doing," press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday, according to The Associated Press.
Kelly, in a statement Tuesday, said the White House looks forward to Kushner maintaining his role working on the Middle East peace process and U.S.-Mexico relations.
"Everyone in the White House is grateful for these valuable contributions to furthering the president's agenda. There is no truth to any suggestion otherwise," Kelly said.
Information for this article was contributed by Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Maggie Haberman of The New York Times and by Zeke Miller of The Associated Press.
A Section on 02/21/2018