Jared Kushner expected to be pivotal to Trump admin’s Middle East efforts without taking a formal job

President-elect Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is seen as being pivotal to the incoming administration’s Middle East efforts, even though he is not likely to take a formal job within it, regional diplomats and Trump allies told CNN.

President-elect Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is seen as being pivotal to the incoming administration’s Middle East efforts, even though he is not likely to take a formal job within it, regional diplomats and Trump allies told CNN. Trump’s Middle East team has been taking shape this week after he selected a former Republican governor and a close friend and real-estate developer to take on key roles. But the close relationships that Kushner developed with leaders in the region over Trump’s first four years in office and maintained in recent years will be hard to replicate, sources told CNN. Some former diplomats and critics of the Trump administration point out that Kushner has significant financial interests in the region, but many regional diplomats recognize the value of the deep relationships he has formed. “No one on the incoming team has what Jared has, and that is trust. Jared earned it, he didn’t have it at the beginning. He earned it. That takes time to build,” said a regional diplomat who worked with Kushner during his time at the White House, noting that Kushner was relatively unknown to most players in the region before he became chief Middle East negotiator in the first Trump administration. Those sentiments are widespread. “Friendships are forever in this region,” said an Israeli source who dealt with the first Trump administration, speaking to the deep personal relationships that Kushner developed – and maintained – with leaders throughout the region. “My assumption is that his role is much more in his hands than anybody else’s.”