BS BULLETIN:

• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she is concerned about House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ recent private meeting with President Trump’s son-in-law and outside adviser Jared Kushner, telling reporters, “I don’t know what that was about.”
• Jeffries says Kushner requested the meeting and that the two discussed affordability, while reports say their conversation also covered housing, immigration and other possible areas of common ground.
• The meeting has generated criticism from the Democratic Party’s progressive wing as Jeffries positions himself to potentially become House speaker if Democrats capture the House in November.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez isn’t quite sure what House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries was doing behind closed doors with Jared Kushner.

And she’d apparently like to know.

The New York Democrat was asked near the Capitol whether she was concerned about Jeffries’ recently revealed private meeting with President Trump’s son-in-law.

“Yeah,” Ocasio-Cortez replied, laughing. “I don’t know what that was about.”

The meeting occurred recently in New York and brought together two men who might seem like unlikely political partners. Jeffries is the House minority leader and could become speaker if Democrats win control of the chamber in November.

Kushner has no formal White House position but continues to serve as an outside adviser to Trump and has played a significant role in the administration’s foreign-policy efforts.

According to reports, Kushner and Jeffries discussed housing, immigration, the cost of living and other potential areas where the two sides might find common ground. Kushner also reportedly suggested Jeffries meet with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.

Jeffries has since explained that Kushner initiated the meeting. “Kushner asked for a meeting, and I took it, to discuss the affordability crisis,” Jeffries said in a social-media video.

But he also sought to reassure Democrats that the conversation wasn’t a sign that he intended to go easy on the Trump administration. “No one is going to get a pass,” Jeffries said, promising that Democrats would hold members of what he called the “Trump cartel” accountable if they regain power.

Ocasio-Cortez’s concerns extend beyond the fact that the meeting occurred. She questioned Kushner’s unusual position in Trump’s orbit earlier this week. “Kushner holds this very bizarre role where he is wielding political influence without a political position and the accountability and public transparency that is required in such a position,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

She also called for greater transparency surrounding Kushner’s business dealings and possible conflicts of interest.

AOC isn’t alone in wondering about the meeting. Some House Democrats and Democratic aides have privately questioned why Jeffries would meet with someone who holds no official administration position. Progressive organizations have been more openly critical.

There is, however, some history between the two men. Jeffries and Kushner worked together during Trump’s first administration on criminal-justice reform, including legislation that gave judges greater sentencing flexibility in certain federal drug cases. They have maintained a relationship despite the increasingly combative rhetoric between Jeffries and Trump.

The timing adds another dimension. Democrats are fighting to regain control of the House in November, which would put Jeffries in position to become the first Black speaker of the House.

A Democratic majority would also dramatically change Trump’s final two years in office, giving Democrats subpoena power and control of House committees. That makes any private conversation between Trump’s influential son-in-law and the man who could soon be running the House noteworthy.

Even to AOC. Whatever happened in that room, Washington certainly wants the minutes.

DBS WIRE SOURCES

• The Hill — AOC says she’s concerned about Jeffries-Kushner meeting
• Associated Press — Coverage of the Jeffries-Kushner meeting
• CBS News — Kushner and Jeffries meeting coverage
• Axios — Democratic reaction to the Jeffries-Kushner meeting
• ABC News — Jeffries and Kushner discuss possible common ground