Senior White House advisor Jared Kushner has seen his West Wing portfolio shrink to the task of bringing peace to the Middle East. But after Kushner lead the effort of move the United States embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, his credibility within the administration is once again on the line.
A new Politico report details Kushner's long-shot "bet" against the conventional wisdom of the foreign policy community and world leaders.
One Politico source, a Kushner ally, says President Donald Trump's son-in-law deserves all of the credit, or blame, for the embassy move.
“Encouraging would be an understatement,” the source close to Kushner said. “It was him.”
Defense Secretary James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson both opposed Kushner's push to move the embassy.
The added scrutiny comes after Kushner's advice to fire FBI Director James Comey resulted in the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller.
In September, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon told Charlie Rose that firing Comey was the biggest mistake in "modern political history."
"I don't think there's any doubt that if James Comey had not been fired, we would not have a special counsel, yes," Bannon continued. "We would not have the Mueller investigation."
Now, Kushner is expecting violence in response to the embassy move while the quality of Kushner's counsel to the president is again under question.
“I think [Trump] and Jared figure that after all the posturing and a few days of riots, things go back to normal when it comes to the negotiations,” a person close to the administration told Politico.
“If he’s right, he will be a hero of heroes,” the Kushner ally explained. “He end-ran Tillerson again. If he’s wrong, he’s doomed.”
Watch Steve Bannon explain the extent of Kushner's mistake in suggesting to fire Comey:
