Donald Trump discussing a trade deal with Mexico at the White House on October 1, as Jared Kushner looks on. Image by Getty

By Ari Feldman November 15, 2018

Donald Trump has endorsed prison reform legislation, something Jared Kushner has been working on for the better part of a year. Trump is hailing the prison reform bill as a major piece of bipartisan legislation.

“This group reached a bipartisan agreement — did I hear the word bipartisan? Did I hear that word?” Trump told a room of Republican lawmakers at the White House Wednesday, according to ABC.

During that meeting, Trump directly acknowledged Kushner’s work on the bill, which has also faced bipartisan opposition — in April, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illin.) asked a House committee to block Kushner’s version of the bill because it did not include provisions for overhauling sentencing guidelines. Though Grassley and Durbin have championed the bill for years, Trump’s endorsement of it is widely seen as a victory for Kushner.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“I want to thank Jared Kushner for working so hard on the bill,” Trump said. “He worked very hard. He really did. He worked very hard. He feels very deeply about it.”

Trump worries that the bill could turn his base against him, according to Axios. But the bill, called the First STEP Act, has been endorsed by the world’s largest group of sworn police officers, the Fraternal Order of Police.

Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @aefeldman

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount