Pineiro/Handout via REUTERS
Jared Kushner aboard a helicopter in Iraq.
Jared Kushner has a hefty list of goals he's expected to accomplish within the next four-to-eight years.
Despite a lack of previous government experience, the 36-year-old senior adviser to President Donald Trump has been tasked by his father-in-law to solve some of the world's most complex and confounding political problems domestically and abroad.
He's taken on those tasks while also emerging as both a shadow secretary of state and point man for cleaning up Trump's gaffes.
The Washington Post noted at as of early February, Kushner was the point-of-contact for over two dozen countries, as many top foreign diplomats have come to view Kushner as a reasonable envoy.
Here are the policy areas tasked to Kushner:
- Middle East peace: After taking office in January, Trump tasked his son-in-law with resolving the decades-long conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians, dubbing it the "toughest deal in the world to make," and saying that if Kushner can't help broker peace "no one can." Trump's son-in-law also met with the Iraqi prime minister this week to discuss the country's war with ISIS.
- Government reform/Opiod crisis management: Late last month, the White House announced that Kushner would head up the White House Office of American Innovation. Partnering with Elon Musk, Apple head Tim Cook, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, the office's goal is to examine areas where the private sector could improve government using data and technology. Kushner told the Washington Post he aimed to use the office to modernize the Department of Veterans Affairs, solve the opiod crisis, and develop ideas for Trump's upcoming infrastructure proposal.
- Criminal justice reform: Kushner met with the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee last week to discuss stalled bipartisan criminal justice reform efforts.
- Liaison to Mexico: When asked if Tillerson would be meeting with Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray while he was in town last month, a spokesperson for the state department seemed unaware the top Mexican diplomat was in town. Videgaray instead met with Kushner, who has served as an intermediary between the president and Mexico, aiming to build trust despite Trump's unpopularity in Mexico due to his inflammatory immigration rhetoric.
- Liaison to China: Kushner is seen as the driving force between Xi's upcoming state visit at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club. The New York Times reported that Kushner has worked behind the scenes to mend fences with the Chinese after Trump broke precedent by appearing to waffle on the so-called "One-China" policy towards Taiwan. The first-son-in-law has also sat in on key meetings regarding North Korea.
- Liaison to the Muslim community: BuzzFeed reported that Kushner met with a group of Muslim activists and business leaders just before Trump's inauguration to discuss the incoming president's relationship with the Muslim community.