Jared Kushner speaks in public. And Washington takes notice

Their objective, the White House said, was "to continue conversations and hear directly from [Israeli] Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu and his senior advisers and [Palestinian Authority] President [Mahmoud] Abbas and his senior advisers about their priorities and potential next steps". Elsewhere, Kushner spoke more generally of his team's goals. Look, it does not matter what he is saying, the point is that he is saying it-in public, and while people are recording him!

So, are you ready for this?

Jared Kushner expressed enthusiasm for the progress he's seen and feels encouraged. Kushner also played a leading role in planning Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia, where he addressed a rare summit of the leaders of about 50 Muslim nations, and called for a united front against terrorism and extremism. The White House official stressed that both presidential advisers are respectful of the interagency process and working with the State Department, led by Secretary Rex Tillerson, and the National Security Council, led by national security adviser H.R. McMaster. On the tech side, guests included Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Tim Cook of Apple, and Peter Thiel of long-held grudges. Believe it! The man has a speaking voice! Many were disappointed that Kushner does not, in fact, sound like that.

Mr Kushner, who has been one of the President's main go-to-guys for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, has faced recent controversy after it was revealed that he had discussed setting up a secret back channel between the Kremlin and the Trump transition team. That team would be in charge of representing him should he need it as agencies investigate potential ties between Russian Federation and the Trump campaign in interfering on the 2016 presidential election. The Wall Street Journal first reported news of Kushner and Greenblatt's trip.