President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, is in Iraq and is traveling with the chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joe Dunford, a White House aide confirmed to Fox News Sunday.
Kushner was invited by Dunford to travel with him to the Middle East.
Other details about the trip have not been released. A senior administration official told the Associated Press that Kushner wanted to see the Iraq situation for himself and show support to Baghdad.
Kushner's West Wing portfolio is robust. He has been deeply involved with presidential staffing and has played the role of shadow diplomat, advising on relations with the Middle East, Canada and Mexico.
Last week he launched a task force meant to modernize government using lessons drawn from the private sector.
And though Kushner had no previous diplomatic or government experience, Trump also tasked him with trying to broker a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
"If you can't produce peace in the Middle East, nobody can," Trump told Kushner at a gala a few days before his inauguration.
His visit marked an early foray for the Trump administration into the situation in Iraq and came just two weeks after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said he was assured by the president the U.S. will accelerate its support for his country's struggle against the Islamic State.
Al-Abadi met with Trump and Kushner in Washington last month and said he had the impression that the Trump administration would take a more aggressive approach, although he did not say what that might entail.
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