(JTA) — A physician with family ties to senior White House adviser Jared Kushner said he solicited advice on Facebook for Kushner on how to deal with the coronavirus.
Kurt Kloss, whose daughter is married to Kushner’s brother, on Wednesday asked a group of fellow emergency room physicians on the social network for the advice on Kushner’s behalf, Politico reported Friday.
“I have direct channel to person now in charge at White House,” Kloss wrote in his post.
Hundreds of doctors responded and Kloss explained that Kushner, who is President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, had asked him for recommendations, according to Politico. Kloss sent Kushner 12 recommendations Thursday morning, according to the article.
Trump appointed Vice President Mike Pence to lead a task force to combat the spread of the coronavirus last month. But Kushner has taken a more active role as the virus continued to spread, two unnamed sources told Politico.
Trump has sent Kushner to deal with multiple sensitive issues, including Middle East politics, immigration and judicial reform, Politico noted.
In a post, Kloss said Kushner is “now directly involved in the response to this,” referring to COVID-19.
The closed Facebook group, EM Docs, has nearly 22,000 members. The posts about Kushner’s request have been removed.
“In his role as a senior adviser to the president, Jared Kushner is, of course involved in the coronavirus response, but he is not in charge of coronavirus research,” a White House official told Politico.
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