Report: Jared Kushner, Trump Son-In-Law, To Be Named Senior Adviser To The President
WASHINGTON (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner is expected to be named senior adviser to the president.
Kushner, who has been one of Trump's top counselors, will continue in that role in White House, according to two people Monday who were briefed on the decision but not authorized to discuss it publicly.
Kushner, 35, is the husband of Ivanka Trump. He owns a real estate development firm and also publishes the Observer in New York. Kushner was a trusted aide and a major player during the successful Trump campaign.
But will his appointment become an ethics issue? It is expected the Trump camp will argue the pick won't violate anti-nepotism laws, CBS2's Dick Brennan reported.
But Trump will need to argue that a federal anti-nepotism law that bar officials from appointing relatives to government positions does not apply to him. He'll also need to eliminate potential conflicts of interest between his family's multi-billion dollar real estate empire and his government duties.
"This came about to stop maybe family members serving on the cabinet, but the president does have discretion to choose a staff of his liking," said Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway.
The anti-nepotism law has rarely been tested. If someone were to sue, the penalty is apparently to lose a government salary – but Kushner will not be taking one anyway
As WCBS 880's Rich Lamb reported, Mayor Bill de Blasio was asked Monday what he had to say about the selection of Kushner. The mayor was filled with praise for the president-elect's son-in-law.
"I respect him a lot. I've known him for years and find him to be a very reasonable person," de Blasio said. "He's certainly someone I've been talking to him over these last weeks. He's someone I intend to stay in touch with on behalf of the people of New York City."
De Blasio added that he believes Kushner. "really cares about New York City and can be very helpful to us." De Blasio declared he was pleased Kushner will assume his role in Trump's administration, and called Kushner "a lot more reasonable and moderate" compared with others named by Trump.
The announcement of Kushner's post is expected later this week.
In the meantime, as Trump continued to hold meetings at Trump Tower New York, the first of his cabinet nominees are preparing for Senate confirmation hearings beginning Tuesday.
"I think they'll all pass," Trump said. "I think every nomination will be – they're all at the highest level."
First up are Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security pick General John Kelly.
Sessions is likely to face some tough questions from colleagues about his alleged racial insensitivities 30 years ago. Those accusations were enough for the Senate to deny him a seat as a federal judge in Alabama.
"No, I think he's going to do great – high-quality man," Trump said.
Visitors to greatagain.gov can find information on Trump's polices, current Cabinet picks, as well as biographical information about the Republican.
Trump spent the day Monday meeting with Jack Ma at Trump Tower.
The President-elect kept his comments about the meeting with the founder of Ali Baba brief, the e-commerce site based in China is one of the most popular websites in the world.
"Jack and I are going to some great things," Trump said.
As 1010 WINS' Steve Kastenbaum reported, Ma said they talked about ways for Americans to sell to China and other Asian markets on Ali Baba.
"We mainly talked about small business, and young people, and American agricultural products to China," he said.
As the two met, Ali Baba's stock rose more than 1 percent on Wall Street.
Visitors to greatagain.gov can find information on Trump's polices, current Cabinet picks, as well as biographical information about the Republican.
Trump was also on the attack Monday because of the Golden Globes, after actress Meryl Streep took a shot at him for allegedly mocking reporter for with a disability back in 2015.
Without mentioning Trump by name, Streep on Sunday night called out the Republican's "performance'' on the campaign trail in which he flailed his arms and appeared to mock a disabled New York Times reporter. She said Trump's actions "kind of broke my heart.''
"But there was one performance this year that stunned me. It sank its hooks in my heart. Not because it was good; there was nothing good about it. But it was effective and it did its job," Streep said. "It made its intended audience laugh, and show their teeth. It was that moment when the person asking to sit in the most respected seat in our country imitated a disabled reporter. Someone he outranked in privilege, power and the capacity to fight back."
Without seeing Streep's remarks, Trump defended himself to the Times, saying he "did no such thing.'' He explained that he "was calling into question a reporter who had gotten nervous because he had changed his story.''
Trump also fired back on Twitter, criticizing Streep and addressing the Times issue.
"I never 'mocked' a disabled reporter (would never do that) but simply showed him 'groveling' when he changed a 16 year old story he had written to make me look bad," Trump tweeted on Monday in response to Streep's speech.
At a Wednesday news conference, Trump is expected to detail how he plans to manage his company's potential conflicts o -interest after he enters the White House.
Trump is expected to make clear in the news conference that Ivanka Trump, Kushner's wife, will not be running Trump's company.
Trump administration officials are also now conceding that U.S. intelligence agency reports are correct - Russia was behind the election hacking of Democratic emails. But Trump's Chief of Staff Reince Priebus says the U.S. sanctions against Russia were about politics.
The Kremlin said it will work with the Trump administration after the inauguration to set up a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
(TM and © Copyright 2017 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
