1. United States
2. Conn.
3. Letter

I am writing to express my extreme disappointment upon learning of Hakim Jeffries recent private meeting with Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law. Let me be clear about why this meeting is so deeply troubling. First, Kushner is no ordinary interlocutor. He holds no formal role in the current administration yet wields enormous informal influence over the President. More critically, House Democrats on the Judiciary Committee opened an investigation in April into Kushner's financial conflicts of interest — specifically, how his private business has raised money from Gulf nations while he served as a government envoy. The person who may become Speaker of a Democratic-controlled House should not be socializing privately with a figure under active congressional investigation by your own caucus. As Mehdi Hasan aptly noted, the only meeting he should be having with Jared Kushner is to inform him he'll be subpoenaed on day one. Second, the optics are devastating at precisely the wrong moment. Democrats are positioning themselves as the party of accountability and resistance to a corrupt administration, with just months before elections that could determine control of Congress. A cozy private sit-down in a space "offered up by a mutual friend" — where he reportedly discussed "areas of common ground" on housing, immigration, and the cost of living — actively undermines that message. It signals to voters that the opposition party's leader is already seeking accommodation with an administration that has shown nothing but contempt for democratic norms, congressional oversight, and the rule of law. Third, this administration has given no indication it deserves outreach. Jeffries himself has stated that the Republican "my-way-or-the-highway" approach "has failed the American people." President Trump has met with Democratic congressional leadership only once since returning to office. The suggestion from Kushner that Jeffries follow up with Chief of Staff Susie Wiles is not a gesture of good faith — it is a signal that the White House recognizes the political reality of a likely Democratic House and is working to neuter its oversight power before it even begins. What the American people need from Jeffries right now is not bridge-building with a figure who embodies the corruption and nepotism of this administration. They need a leader who is preparing to wield the full power of the gavel — to investigate, to subpoena, to hold accountable, and to deliver the "no-holds-barred" oversight you have promised. Former Representative Adam Kinzinger, himself a Republican and Trump critic, tagged Jeffries in a post saying simply: "Make this make sense." It does not. I urge you to commit publicly to a robust oversight agenda if Democrats retake the House, to refuse any further private meetings with Kushner or other Trump family members outside of formal, documented channels, and to recognize that the appetite within your own base is not for accommodation — it is for accountability. Jeffries has also stated that he has no intention of impeaching Trump, which is infuriating. The stakes are too high for anything less.