Assessing Trump’s Cabinet picks
President-elect Donald Trump announced Sunday that he intends to nominate Massad Boulos, a billionaire businessman from Lebanon who is also father-in-law to Tiffany Trump, to serve as senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs.
Boulos’ son, Michael Boulos, has been married to Trump’s daughter Tiffany since 2022.
Trump announced Boulos as his pick for the advisory position in a post shared to his social media platform Truth Social on Sunday.
“Massad is an accomplished lawyer and a highly respected leader in the business world, with extensive experience on the International scene,” Trump wrote. “He has been a longtime proponent of Republican and Conservative values, an asset to my Campaign, and was instrumental in building tremendous new coalitions with the Arab American Community.”
His post went on to describe Boulos as “a dealmaker, and an unwavering supporter of PEACE in the Middle East,” who “will be a strong advocate for the United States, and its interests.”
The selection comes as Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance continue their transition into the White House ahead of January’s inauguration. Boulos will likely play a role in how Trump approaches Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza, which has triggered conflicts with Lebanon and Iran while threatening to spread more widely throughout the region. The Biden White House announced last week that it had helped broker a ceasefire deal between Israel and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah in Lebanon, although both Israel and Hezbollah have accused the other of violating the agreement. Negotiations for a similar deal with Hamas have long been stalled.
Boulos already helped spearhead the Trump campaign’s outreach efforts in Arab American communities in the U.S. this year, organizing meetings in Michigan and other states. He is also the second Trump in-law picked to serve in a leadership role in his next administration.
In another Truth Social post shared on Saturday, the president-elect announced Charles Kushner, whose son Jared Kushner is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump, was his choice for ambassador to France. Jared Kushner served as a senior adviser to Trump during his first term.
On Truth Social, Trump called Charles Kushner “a tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmaker, who will be a strong advocate representing our Country & interests.” Trump pardoned Kushner in 2020 after he pleaded guilty years earlier to tax evasion and making illegal campaign donations.
