Trump Asks Jewish Son-in-Law, Jared Kushner, to Plan for Transition Team
Donald J. Trump has asked his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to begin quietly working to put together a blueprint for a transition team should he win the White House in November.
Mr. Kushner, the husband of Mr. Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, will work with Corey Lewandowski, the Trump campaign manager, and Paul Manafort, a senior adviser, to set up a prospective team and determine who its most important members should be. But Mr. Kushner is not expected to be involved if such a transition should occur, according to two people briefed on his new assignment.
“The campaign will likely be announcing transition team leadership in the coming weeks,” said Hope Hicks, a Trump spokeswoman.
Mr. Kushner, 35, is the publisher of The New York Observer and heads his family’s real estate development company, Kushner Companies.
He and Mr. Trump have a close relationship and are often in contact, talking informally about the campaign. And Mr. Kushner, aided by The Observer’s editor, Ken Kurson, wrote a closely watched speech Mr. Trump delivered to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in March.
On Tuesday, after Mr. Trump won the Indiana primary and emerged as the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee, he praised Mr. Kushner, who was standing beside him.
“Honestly, Jared is a very successful real estate person, but I actually think he likes politics more than he likes real estate,” Mr. Trump said as his daughter broke out laughing. “But he’s very good at politics.”