Noah Feldman, Columnist

Kushner Has Trump's Trust. He Needs Clearance Too.

Put the infighting aside and consider this: Shouldn't the president's advisers have access to the best information available?

February 22, 2018 at 5:01 PM UTC

By Noah Feldman

Noah Feldman is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A professor of law at Harvard University, he is author, most recently, of “To Be a Jew Today: A New Guide to God, Israel, and the Jewish People."

Let's keep this between family.
Photographer: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

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The reported struggle over security clearance between White House chief of staff John Kelly and presidential adviser (and son-in-law) Jared Kushner is a fascinating example of palace intrigue. But as engrossing as it may be to speculate about whether Kelly is trying to marginalize Kushner by denying him access to the presidential daily brief, we shouldn’t neglect one basic truth. It’s ultimately up to President Donald Trump to decide who he wants to advise him -- and we should all want those counselors to be able to provide the best advice possible.

More than any other part of the government, including the rest of the executive branch, the White House is the president’s space to control as he chooses. It’s right and proper that Trump fill his office with people he trusts.