President-elect Donald Trump announced Sunday that he plans to nominate Massad Boulos, a billionaire businessman from Lebanon and father-in-law of Tiffany Trump, as a senior adviser for Arab and Middle Eastern affairs.
Boulos’ son, Michael Boulos, has been married to Trump’s daughter Tiffany since 2022.
Trump announced Boulos as his choice for the advisory position in a post shared on his social media platform Truth Social on Sunday.
“Massad is an accomplished attorney and a highly respected leader in the business world, with extensive experience on the international stage,” Trump wrote. “He has been a longtime supporter of Republican and Conservative values, an asset to my campaign, and was instrumental in building great new coalitions with the Arab American Community.”
His post further described Boulos as “a dealmaker and staunch 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 newly elected Vice President JD Vance continue their transition to 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 sparked conflict with Lebanon and Iran while threatening to spread more widely in the region. The Biden White House announced last week that it had helped mediate a ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah in Lebanon, although both Israel and Hezbollah have accused the other of breaching the agreement. Negotiations on a similar agreement with Hamas have been stalled for a long time.
Boulos has already helped lead the Trump campaign’s efforts in Arab-American communities in the US this year, organizing rallies in Michigan and other states. He is also the second Trump in-law picked to take a leadership role in his next administration.
In another Truth Social post shared Saturday, President-elect Charles Kushner, whose son Jared Kushner is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump, announced: was his choice for ambassador to France. Jared Kushner was a senior adviser to Trump during his first term.
In Truth Social, Trump called Charles Kushner “a great business leader, philanthropist and dealmaker who will be a strong advocate for representing our country and our interests.” Trump forgave Kushner in 2020 after pleading guilty years earlier to tax evasion and making illegal campaign donations.
