World

Trump advisers Stephen Bannon, Jared Kushner ‘hold peace talks’

White House chief of staff Reince Priebus asks pair to set aside disagreements

A January 2017 photograph shows (L-R) Jared Kushner, Stephen Bannon and Reince Priebus raising their hands during the swearing-in of senior staff. Photograph: Getty Images

Sun Apr 9 2017 - 11:56

Trump advisers Stephen Bannon and Jared Kushner met on Friday to in an attempt to reconcile their differences and end infighting that has plagued the White House in recent days.

Mr Bannon, Presdient Donald Trump’s chief strategist, and Mr Kushner, the president’s adviser and son-in-law, met at the urging of White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, who asked them to set aside their disagreements and focus on pursuing the president’s agenda, according to an administration official.

Media outlets published a rash of news stories this week exposing the civil war within Mr Trump’s inner circle, with anonymous sources describing factions led by Mr Bannon and Mr Kushner as being locked in perpetual battle.

Mr Trump reorganised his National Security Council (NSC) on Wednesday, removing Mr Bannon from the principals committee on the same day the president was weighing options for a missile strike against Syria, his administration’s first major decision on a military action.

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Mr Bannon, the former executive chairman of Breitbart News, is among Mr Trump’s most trusted yet most controversial advisers.

He has channelled the populist and nationalist sentiment that propelled Trump’s campaign, and his placement on the NSC committee drew criticism from some members of Congress and Washington’s foreign policy establishment, who said it risked politicising the security advice provided to the president.

While he is aligned with other White House aides, including senior Trump policy adviser Stephen Miller, Mr Bannon has faced criticism for the troubled roll-out of the president’s executive order on immigration and the failed attempt in March to pass health-care legislation.

Rising star

Meanwhile, Mr Kushner’s star has been on the rise. The husband (36) of Mr Trump’s older daughter Ivanka recently returned from visiting US troops in Iraq and will run a new initiative to streamline the federal government.

He has also played a key role in Mr Trump’s foreign policy, including the US relationship with China.

In an administration where proximity often equates to power, Mr Kushner was one of the US officials sitting closest to Mr Trump on Thursday as the president dined with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

Earlier in Trump’s administration, news coverage focused on possible tension between Mr Bannon and Mr Priebus, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee.

The pair appeared together on stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February to show a public display of solidarity.

Since then, Mr Trump has faced a number of setbacks to his young administration, including having an executive order on immigration blocked a second time by the courts, and failing to pass legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare.

Asked by reporters on Thursday whether his administration needed a shakeup, Mr Trump said he was proud of what his staff had accomplished.

“We’ve had a tremendous success,” he told reporters on Air Force One.

Bloomberg

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