Democrats have accused first son-in-law Jared Kushner of seeking to raise billions of dollars for his private investment fund while meeting with foreign leaders on behalf of President Donald Trump.
Kushner, who is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka, has no official government job but has been serving as a special envoy for peace talks in the Middle East and between Russia and Ukraine.
At the same time, he has not given up his role leading his firm, Affinity Partners, which has raised billions of dollars from foreign governments since its launch in 2021, just after Trump’s first term, during which Kushner served as a senior adviser inside the White House.
Now, Kushner is allegedly seeking billions more as he participates in government talks with foreign leaders, according to the New York Times.
The top Democrats on the House Oversight Committee and Senate Finance Committee launched an investigation this week. They have claimed that Kushner, 45, was soliciting billions of dollars from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds for his firm.
“President Trump has given his son-in-law Jared Kushner an unprecedented level of control over U.S. foreign policy while remaining on the payroll of numerous foreign governments,” they wrote in a letter to Affinity Partners. “Mr. Kushner is simultaneously being paid millions of dollars by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies while leading diplomatic negotiations with Iran and Russia.
“This corrupt arrangement is not only criminal but is endangering the lives of Americans and threatening our national security,” they added.
Ranking members Rep. Robert Garcia and Sen. Ron Wyden alleged that Kushner had not removed himself from his foreign business dealings but actually expanded them during the president’s second term.
“It appears that while Mr. Kushner is representing the U.S. government in negotiations in the Middle East, he is simultaneously seeking to raise at least $5 billion in additional foreign capital for his private equity firm, Affinity Partners,” they wrote.
“According to public reports and filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Kushner has already increased the amount of fees he is collecting from foreign governments since his father-in-law took office in 2025,” they also added.
The letter claimed that at the start of the 2024 election year, the firm managed $3 billion in foreign funds, but that number spiked to $4.8 billion at the end of that year.
The lawmakers questioned whether the Trump administration was letting Kushner use his influence for personal financial gain. They also raised conflict-of-interest concerns.
Kushner indicated on the podcast Invest Like The Best in December 2024, right after his father-in-law won a second term, that his firm would not raise any capital for the next four years to “avoid any conflicts.”
“We don’t have to raise capital for the next four years,” he told its host Patrick O’Shaughnessy.
Now, Democrats have called on Kushner’s firm to provide information on all its foreign government, sovereign wealth fund, and any other state-owned entities that Kushner or others in his firm have talked to about investments or other opportunities since Trump took office last January.
In response to the Daily Beast inquiry, the White House argued the probe was the “same, tired narrative” Democrats had pushed for decades.
“Jared is generously volunteering his time to advance the president’s agenda to bring peace to global conflicts—and like the president, he only acts in the best interests of the American public,” spokesperson Anna Kelly said, without explaining how.
The Daily Beast also asked Affinity Partners for comment.
The two Democrats are not the only ones who have zeroed in on Kushner since he took on a role negotiating the Gaza peace deal, an end to the war in Ukraine, and, more recently, participated in Iran nuclear talks in the final days leading up to the U.S. attacking Iran.
They’re also seeking details on Kushner’s travel to foreign countries for Affinity Partners, as well as any information on steps the firm has taken to ensure Kushner’s government work does not overlap with raising cash.
The top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Ranking Member Gregory Meeks, has called for Kushner to come before Congress and answer questions and has threatened to haul Kushner in with a subpoena should Democrats retake the majority.
