Rep. Garcia says Kushner's fundraising "raises serious concerns about his potential conflicts of interest"
Robert GarciaRanking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, in a release from House Oversight Democrats
In a March 19, 2026 release announcing letters he and Sen. Ron Wyden sent to the White House and Affinity Partners, Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said Kushner raising billions from Middle Eastern governments for his firm while serving as an envoy "raises serious concerns about his potential conflicts of interest." He wrote that answers are needed if the president's son-in-law is profiting by selling access to influence U.S. policy to foreign investors, and that national security is at risk if Kushner is influenced by cash from other countries.
Responding to
It appears that while Jared Kushner is representing the U.S. government in negotiations in the Middle East, he is simultaneously seeking to raise at least $5 billion in additional foreign capital for Affinity Partners, which Rep. Robert Garcia and Sen. Ron Wyden say raises the potential for conflicts of interest that could threaten national security.
“Jared Kushner raising billions from Middle Eastern governments for his private equity firm, pocketing tens of millions in fees each year, while serving as Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy raises serious concerns about his potential conflicts of interest. We need answers if Trump’s son-in-law is profiting by selling access to influence U.S. policy to foreign investors. If he’s getting influenced by cash from other countries, America’s national security is at risk.”
Official statement
Original text
Where this statement fits
Does Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners conflict with his role in Middle East negotiations, as congressional Democrats and ethics groups say?
Jared Kushner founded the investment firm Affinity Partners in January 2021. Since 2025 he has taken part in U.S. diplomatic talks on Gaza, Iran and Ukraine. Congressional Democrats, the ethics group CREW and other critics say the two roles conflict. They point to the firm's funding from foreign governments, its stakes in Israeli companies and reports that it sought new capital while he negotiated. Kushner, his lawyers, Affinity and the White House dispute that. A CNN investigation published October 1, 2026 reported that Affinity is the largest shareholder in the Israeli insurer Phoenix Financial, which holds stakes in companies that supply Israel's military, and that CNN found no indication his diplomacy directly affected the investments it reviewed. Kushner replied on October 2 that Phoenix is not a defense company and that he has no role in its investment decisions. The White House says he works on a volunteer basis. As of October 4, 2026, we did not find a ruling or finding on the question from a court, agency or committee, and we could not locate a response from Kushner to two letters from Rep. Jamie Raskin.
Source and context
Official statement
About this source
The House Oversight Democrats' release announcing the two letters of March 19, 2026. It carries one quotation each from Rep. Robert Garcia and Sen. Ron Wyden and describes earlier Oversight Democrat inquiries into Kushner.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Original text
About this source
The two ranking Democrats ask Affinity for information on foreign governments and investors it has discussed investments with since January 20, 2025, payments from sovereign funds, and measures separating Kushner's government work from fundraising, by April 2, 2026. The letter relies on a March 13, 2026 New York Times report and on Affinity's SEC filing, and it contains characterizations by the letter's authors, including that the arrangement is 'criminal' and that Kushner may be an unregistered foreign agent. Those are allegations in the letter, not findings.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The New York Times had reported on March 13 that Kushner had spoken with potential investors about raising $5 billion or more for Affinity. The letters from Garcia and Wyden cite that report and Affinity's SEC filing.
After the quotation
The letters asked for responses by April 2. Affinity's chief legal officer told the Times that the firm had early conversations about fund-raising and does not intend to take in additional capital while Kushner is volunteering for the government. As of October 4, 2026, we could not locate a further public reply.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the proposition that Kushner's private business through Affinity, including its Israeli investments and Gulf capital, creates a conflict of interest with his role in U.S. Middle East negotiations. Garcia says the fundraising "raises serious concerns about his potential conflicts of interest" and calls for answers, which criticizes the arrangement, so we used Condemned. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional, because two sentences are phrased as conditions, one about whether the president's son-in-law is profiting and one about whether he is influenced by cash from other countries. It loses because those conditions concern whether profit or influence occurred, while the first sentence itself criticizes the overlap of the fundraising and the envoy role.
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More from this case
Read the full caseKushner says "Phoenix is not a defense company" and that he has "no role in deciding what Phoenix buys or sells"
“CNN published a deeply misleading story and headline suggesting that my diplomatic work in the Middle East somehow benefited investments in Israeli defense companies. But CNN’s own reporting says otherwise. Buried behind a paywall, it acknowledges: “CNN found no indication that Kushner’s actions as a diplomat directly affected the investments reviewed.” Phoenix is not a defense company. It is one of Israel’s largest publicly traded financial institutions, highly regulated and managing approximately $220 billion across thousands of investments. Think of Phoenix as the Israeli equivalent of Vanguard or Fidelity. It manages the retirement savings of millions of Israelis. The savers don’t choose the individual investments, and neither do I. I have no role in deciding what Phoenix buys or sells. It has performed very well for Affinity and our investors, up more than five times since our initial investment. Affinity is an SEC-registered investment firm. Our investment in Phoenix is public and dates to before President Trump was re-elected and before I returned to public service. Affinity does not own the defense companies highlighted in CNN’s story. Those facts make for a less provocative headline, but a much more accurate story. Misleading stories will not distract me from the work President Trump asked me to do: help end wars, bring people together and pursue peace. That work is too important.”Read statement
The White House says Kushner's "personal business activities have nothing to do with his diplomatic engagements"
“Jared Kushner’s personal business activities have nothing to do with his diplomatic engagements, which he conducts on a volunteer basis at the President’s request”Read statement
CREW's chief ethics counsel tells CNN "the people profiting should not be the people making the decisions to make that policy"
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
“There are always people who profit from war or government policies. The difference is that the people profiting should not be the people making the decisions to make that policy. And that is what is happening here”Read statement
Cite this record
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- The Dispute Index
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- Rep. Garcia says Kushner's fundraising "raises serious concerns about his potential conflicts of interest"
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- https://disputeindex.com/events/4563-in-a-march-19-2026-release-announcing-letters
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Rep. Garcia says Kushner's fundraising "raises serious concerns about his potential conflicts of interest"". First published: 2026-10-05. Last updated: 2026-10-05. https://disputeindex.com/events/4563-in-a-march-19-2026-release-announcing-letters