Trump's son-in-law to take senior post

US president-elect Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will become a senior White House adviser working on trade and the Middle East, transition officials said on Monday, in a rare case of a close presidential family member taking a major job.

Kushner, 35, who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka, is taking the post after receiving legal counsel that doing so would not violate US anti-nepotism law, transition officials said. The position, unlike Cabinet posts, does not require US Senate confirmation, and Kushner will not be paid.

Trump, in a statement on Monday announcing the choice, said Kushner was a "tremendous asset and trusted adviser throughout the campaign and transition."

Kushner, who like Trump is a New York real estate developer, emerged as an important voice early in his father-in-law's presidential campaign and was involved in almost every aspect of it from personnel decisions to strategy and fundraising.

Ivanka Trump, who like her husband has been a close adviser to the president-elect, will not take on a role in her father's White House but will focus on settling her family in Washington.

Kushner and his wife will undertake divestments of their wide-ranging financial portfolios as they prepare for their move to Washington from New York and face inevitable questions about a potential conflict of interest.

Senior transition officials and a lawyer for Kushner laid out the arrangement in a conference call with a small group of reporters.

Kushner is to work closely with incoming White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and senior strategist Steve Bannon in advising the new president, and the officials said he would focus at least at first on trade policy and the Middle East.

Trump, who is scheduled to take office on Jan 20, has vowed to rewrite international trade deals to make them more favorable to the United States. He has also pledged to move the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Divestments

In order to comply with federal ethics laws and after consulting the Office of Government Ethics, Kushner will take a number of steps to divest substantial assets.

Kushner will resign from his positions as chief executive of the Kushner Companies and as publisher of the New York Observer newspaper and divest from any interests in the New York Observer, Thrive Capital, the 666 Fifth Avenue office building in midtown Manhattan and any foreign investments.

In addition, Kushner will recuse himself from participating in matters that could have a direct effect on his remaining financial interests.

Those interests include real estate in New York, Ivanka Trump's interest in the new Trump hotel in Washington and the Ivanka Trump Brand fashion business, the officials said. Kushner will file a public financial disclosure form.

(China Daily 01/11/2017 page12)