U.S. president assigns family member and business partner to lead foreign policy talks

A U.S. president has placed key diplomatic responsibilities in the hands of a family member and a business associate rather than career diplomats. The two individuals now lead talks involving Ukraine, Gaza and Iran. Both previously lacked diplomatic experience and maintain business interests that overlap with the negotiations.

Background on the assignments The son-in-law previously served as an adviser during an earlier term and helped arrange agreements between Israel and several Arab states. The real-estate partner joined the current effort as a special envoy. Officials have not publicly detailed how potential conflicts of interest will be managed during the talks.

Reactions and outlook In many democracies such outsourcing of high-level diplomacy would face strong domestic opposition. The current approach has produced little visible pushback inside the United States. Long-term effects on U.S. foreign policy credibility remain to be seen.