How Trump friend Steve Witkoff ended up at the center of high-stakes Ukraine, Israel negotiations

When Donald Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts by a jury last May, there was one person in his courtroom entourage who wasn’t one of his lawyers, aides or family members: Steve Witkoff.

When Donald Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts by a jury last May, there was one person in his courtroom entourage who wasn’t one of his lawyers, aides or family members: Steve Witkoff. While a parade of Trump allies came in and out of the Manhattan courtroom throughout last year’s seven-week trial — including Trump’s eventual vice president, JD Vance — it was Witkoff who stayed by Trump’s side during the final hours after two days of jury deliberations, a sign of the close friendship between the two real estate moguls. Now that longtime friendship with Trump has thrust Witkoff in the middle of two of the biggest foreign policy crises facing Trump’s second term. Named Trump’s Middle East envoy shortly after the president won a return to the White House in November, Witkoff worked with Biden administration’s officials to finalize a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. His portfolio has now expanded to the Russia-Ukraine war, and Witkoff accompanied Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, for a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday that served to jumpstart US-Russian relations. While Witkoff has never served before as a diplomat or even worked in government, Trump views him as the ultimate dealmaker. “Outside of family, there is no one as trusted by DJT as Steve,” a White House official told CNN.