White House says Trump son-in-law Kushner can do job without security clearance

[February 21, 2018]    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, can continue in his role as a senior White House adviser even if he does not obtain a security clearance, the White House said on Tuesday.

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner sits behind U.S. United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley before the start of a Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East at the United Nations in New York, U.S., February 20, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Kushner has been operating under a temporary clearance for the past year while the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducts a background investigation. Under an order issued on Friday by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, Kushner will lose the temporary clearance in less than a week.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters that Kushner will continue the work he has been doing the past year whether he gets a full security clearance or not. He has been trying to get the Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table.

(Reporting by Steve Holland and Roberta Rampton; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

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