The new chief of staff is witnessing Trump White House truisms: Power centers vie over many decisions, and Jared Kushner is often the most powerful voice.

When the White House’s top domestic policy job came open in recent weeks, newly installed chief of staff Mark Meadows was quick to suggest a surprising name: Stephen Miller.

The proposal, described by three people familiar with the situation, would place Miller, the hard-charging force behind the administration’s immigration policies, in a better-defined role as Meadows worked to reshape the West Wing.

But Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, intervened. He suggested others he had worked with at the White House. Eventually, Derek Lyons, who is viewed as close to Kushner, became the new acting director of the Domestic Policy Council.

The episode provided an early and important lesson for Meadows: The White House is rife with competing power centers, and Kushner is often the most powerful force behind Trump himself.

Six weeks into his tenure as chief of staff, Meadows is adjusting to the ways of a White House where the president often announces policy changes with little discussion and many decisions become opportunities for various factions to advance their agendas. And Kushner is the figure who has consistently loomed large over those choices, according to nine current and former senior administration officials and Republicans close to the White House, most of whom did not want to use their name to speak freely.

“Those are the realities,” said a Republican who speaks to the president. “If Jared’s role has changed, it has only increased. His portfolio has grown. The president trusts him implicitly.”

Kushner’s power has been growing since midway through Trump’s term when Meadows’ predecessor, Mick Mulvaney, became acting chief of staff with a vow to let Trump be Trump. Meadows had been expected to take a more hands-on approach than Mulvaney, but some people in and around the White House say his attempts to assert himself have run into Kushner.

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