Massad Boulos, Tiffany Trump‘s father-in-law, is now seeing a diminished role in the Trump Administration following the false claims that he is a billionaire, among other issues.

A report in the New York Times documented how Boulos repeatedly exaggerated his wealth in interviews.

In early April, Boulos arrived at the Joint Base Andrews as the newest official of President Donald Trump‘s Africa policy administration and waited several hours for his trip to Africa. He and his State Department delegation were told the government wouldn’t pay for the flight.

Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, told him he would not have access to a government plane and should trim down his trip by cutting a stop in Angola and flying commercial the next day.

Boulos’ mixed reputation and struggle to gain influence shed light on how power works in Trump’s inner circle, showing that despite family ties being valuable to the president, Boulos appears to be an exception.

People familiar with Boulos’ interactions told Politico he has been given formal titles without clear responsibilities and kept out of meaningful discussions. Four of them said that the White House and State Department have continued to be frustrated by his freelancing efforts, which have resulted in incidents that have soured Boulos’ relationship with the administration.

Some of Boulos’ actions include handing out business cards that inflate his job titles, declining to notify the State Department in advance about sensitive meetings and repeatedly implying his job is broader than it is.

Despite being appointed as an Africa adviser in early April, Boulos holds the title of senior adviser of Arab and Middle East affairs. Administration officials said he is not meant to actively work on Middle East issues.

Boulos has declined to comment, while other spokespeople and public defenders praise his role in Trump’s Africa policy.

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Article by Jacob Barker

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