White House adviser, a Kushner friend, leaving White House

Reed Cordish is stepping down from his post as an assistant to the president for intergovernmental and technology initiatives and will be replaced by Brooke Rollins, a former aide to Energy Secretary Rick Perry, the White House confirmed on Friday. The Washington Post first reported the change.

Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law who heads the Office of American Innovation, praised Cordish as "invaluable to the administration" in a statement provided to CNN.

"His leadership on initiatives ranging from work-force development to prison reform to modernizing key VA services will have a positive impact for millions of Americans," Kushner said in the statement.

Kushner also touted Rollins, Cordish's replacement, who is currently the president and CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank. He said the trio have worked closely together on prison reform, one of the issues Kushner has sought to advance through the Office of American Innovation.

"Reed and I have been working closely with Brooke Rollins in her role as President & CEO of Texas Public Policy Foundation on prison reform and she is well prepared to continue executing on our key initiatives. We are grateful to have her join the Office of American Innovation," Kushner said.

Kushner launched the Office of American Innovation in March 2017 with the ambitious goal of applying private-sector solutions to reform the federal government. The office has served as a key liaison between the White House and the business community and has also become a hub for Kushner's pet policy projects, including most recently prison reform.

Cordish's position in the Trump administration was his first in government. Like Kushner, he entered government after working for his family's real estate company, the Maryland-based Cordish Companies.