(CNN) President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, had his White House security clearance restored Wednesday, a person familiar with the matter said, after months of uncertainty stemming in part from his role in the ongoing investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller. 
 
 Kushner met with Mueller's investigators a second time in April and answered questions for seven hours, according to his attorney, Abbe Lowell. He had previously sat for an interview last November that was largely focused on former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who soon after pleaded guilty to charges of making false statements to the FBI. 
 
 These developments come as the Mueller's investigators appear to be trying to complete parts of their inquiry. 
 
 The Kushner team believes he is now finished with all ongoing inquiries, which also include the investigations by congressional committees, according to a person close to Kushner. 
 
 A spokesman for Mueller declined to comment. 
 
 "A year ago, Jared was one of the first to voluntarily cooperate with any investigation into the 2016 campaign and related topics," Lowell said in a statement. 
 
 "Since then, he has continued this complete cooperation, providing a large number of documents and sitting for hours of interviews with congressional committees and providing numerous documents and sitting for two interviews with the Office of Special Counsel. On each occasion, he answered all questions asked and did everything he could to expedite the conclusion of all the investigations." 
 
 Kushner was stripped of his interim clearance in February amid an overhaul of procedures governing access to the nation's most sensitive secrets following the resignation of Rob Porter, the President's staff secretary, who had been allowed to remain in his post for months despite allegations of spouse abuse. 
 
 The Mueller probe has also hung over Kushner's status in the White House, in part because some of the matters under investigation relate to his role during the campaign and the transition, including contacts with Russians, as well as events that occurred in the early months of the Trump presidency, such as the firing of former FBI Director James Comey 
 
 JUST WATCHED What you need to know about Jared Kushner Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH What you need to know about Jared Kushner 01:24 
 
 White House officials have blamed the delay in Kushner receiving his security clearance on administrative backlogs normal to a new administration, as well as the complicated nature of his application. But Kushner's troubles were compounded at least in part because his initial security clearance application didn't list dozens of foreign contacts that he later included in updated submissions to the FBI. 
 
 Lowell disputed that the initial security clearance application played any role in the delay in Kushner receiving his final clearance. 
 
 "With respect with the news of his clearance being restored, as we stated before, his application was properly submitted, reviewed by numerous career officials and went through the normal process," Lowell said. "Throughout the process, Mr. Kushner has continued to work on a number of foreign policy and domestic issues with no interruption. Having completed all of these processes, he is looking to continue to do the work the President has asked him to do." ||||| (CNN) Jared Kushner, who has worn dueling hats for more than a year as President Donald Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law, has been stripped of his access to the nation's top secrets, officials said Tuesday after his security clearance was downgraded. 
 
 Kushner, along with other White House officials who had been operating on interim clearances, had their access altered last week after chief of staff John Kelly stipulated new changes to the security clearance system. 
 
 Aides who previously operated on "top secret/sensitive compartmented information" interim clearances saw their access changed to "secret," a classification for less sensitive material. The lesser "secret" clearance allows access to far fewer government secrets. It would prevent Kushner from accessing the Presidential Daily Brief, the collection of top secret material prepared for the commander in chief every day. 
 
 Dozens of White House officials have operated on interim clearances since Trump took office more than a year ago. Kelly had grown frustrated with the high number of aides without permanent access and has worked to shrink the number of temporary clearances. He issued a memo last week spelling out changes to the system, which gained new scrutiny after domestic abuse allegations against former aide Rob Porter surfaced this month. 
 
 In the February 16 memo, Kelly stated that White House officials who have been operating on interim clearances since last June would have their temporary clearances discontinued. That included Kushner, who has taken on a wide portfolio as senior adviser, including sensitive foreign policy matters. Asked on Friday whether he would grant Kushner an exemption from the new mandate, Trump said it would be Kelly's decision. 
 
 The White House has refused to detail the status of Kushner's clearance. In a statement, Kushner's attorney Abbe Lowell wrote: "Mr. Kushner has done more than what is expected of him in this process." 
 
 "Those involved in the process again have confirmed that there are dozens of people at Mr. Kushner's level whose process is delayed," Lowell wrote. "No concerns were raised about Mr. Kushner's application. As General Kelly himself said, the new clearance policy will not affect Mr. Kushner's ability to continue to do the very important work he has been assigned by the President." 
 
 Kushner is accepting the decision about his security clearance and "will not ask for special permission" from the President, one person familiar with the situation says. 
 
 Politico first reported the security clearance downgrade. At the White House on Tuesday, press secretary Sarah Sanders said Kushner's work would continue apace. 
 
 "He is a valued member of the team and will continue to do the important work he has been doing since he started in the administration," Sanders said. 
 
 Kushner-Kelly rift 
 
 JUST WATCHED NYT: Kushner resisting restricted access Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH NYT: Kushner resisting restricted access 01:55 
 
 White House officials have been working over the past week to identify a way for Kushner to continue pursuing his portfolio of issues -- including on the Middle East and China -- that would avoid forcing Trump to personally intervene. Officials have expressed worry that Trump's personal involvement could create problems within the West Wing and with Kelly. 
 
 The security clearance issue has caused a rift between Kushner and Kelly, multiple source familiar with the matter say. The President is aware of the tensions between the two men over the matter, a person familiar with his thinking said. 
 
 Republican sources close to the White House said the clearance downgrade could undercut Kushner's ability to influence policy decision-making in the West Wing. Without a top-level clearance, Kushner will be unable to attend meetings where the most sensitive national secrets are discussed. 
 
 It's not clear how long the diminished security clearance will last. The FBI is expected to wrap up Kushner's background check within a month, a person familiar with the situation said, adding that the FBI would hand the findings to the White House for it to make the ultimate decision on Kushner's clearance. 
 
 A "surge" of FBI agents have been tasked with processing a backlog of background investigations into Trump administration officials seeking security clearances, law enforcement sources said. Agents are "churning and burning" to complete the required checks, one official with the matter said. "We're trying to help the process ASAP." 
 
 Meanwhile, White House officials say they've noticed an uptick in the pace of top secret security clearance decisions coming from the White House Personnel Security office. That's the department tasked with taking the FBI background check and determining whether a clearance should be granted. 
 
 One law enforcement source said agents in two Washington-based squads tasked with completing background checks are "inundated" with "thousands of people" across the government who still require background investigations before receiving permanent security clearances. 
 
 "We thought we had an adequate number of individuals assigned. We realized we need to up our ante and get this off our plate," the official said. "It's an arduous process that they go through. You can only do so much in 24 hours." 
 
 After-action 
 
 JUST WATCHED Sources: 30-40 WH officials lack full security clearance Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Sources: 30-40 WH officials lack full security clearance 01:50 
 
 In the February 16 memo, Kelly wrote that in the wake of the Porter scandal he "convened a number of after-action meetings," including with senior FBI leadership, to discuss the security clearance process. 
 
 "They have offered to assist us with reviewing and improving our protocols and we have accepted their assistance," Kelly wrote. 
 
 He noted that even before the Porter scandal he had directed the Personnel Security office to make "better use of existing staff" and hire "additional staff." 
 
 Before Kelly issued his memo, White House and Justice Department officials convened a conference call to see whether some of the outstanding background check investigations for officials on interim clearances could be completed quickly. That included Kushner, according to a person familiar with the call. In his memo, Kelly stated that all interim clearances would be discontinued in a week's time. 
 
 A separate conversation took place last week between Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and White House counsel Don McGahn about Kushner's clearance. Rosenstein explained on the call the clearance process for Kushner was still ongoing, according to a source familiar with the matter. 
 
 "The deputy attorney general has not referenced to the White House any specific concerns relating to this individual's security clearance process," Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said. ||||| Presidential son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner has had his security clearance downgraded — a move that will prevent him from viewing many of the sensitive documents to which he once had unfettered access. 
 
 Kushner is not alone. All White House aides working on the highest-level interim clearances — at the Top Secret/SCI-level — were informed in a memo sent Friday that their clearances would be downgraded to the Secret level, according to three people with knowledge of the situation. 
 
 Story Continued Below 
 
 The SCI acronym stands for sensitive compartmented information, a category of information that comes from sensitive intelligence sources and must be walled off. 
 
 The memo was not signed by chief of staff John Kelly, but it comes as the retired Marine general and other top White House aides are grappling with the fallout of a scandal involving former White House staff secretary Rob Porter, which revealed that dozens of White House aides had yet to receive permanent clearances but nonetheless had access to some of the country’s deepest secrets. 
 
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 The president has the ability to grant Kushner a permanent clearance, but Trump said Friday — the same day the memo was sent — that he was leaving the decision to his chief of staff. 
 
 “I will let General Kelly make that decision,” Trump told reporters. “I have no doubt he’ll make the right decision.” 
 
 The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the memo. 
 
 White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders declined to comment on Kushner’s clearance status at a briefing Tuesday. 
 
 “We actually haven’t commented on Jared’s issue indicated, but we have commented on his ability to do his job. Which, he’s a valued member of the team and he will continue to do the important work that he’s been doing since he’s started in the administration.” 
 
 Kushner’s attorney Abbe Lowell said in a statement that Kushner “has done more than what is expected of him in this process.” 
 
 Lowell added that the changes would “not affect Mr. Kushner’s ability to continue to do the very important work he has been assigned by the president.” 
 
 Friday’s decision is the first change to the clearance process instituted in the wake of the Porter debacle that will directly affect Kushner, who serves as a senior adviser to Trump and until now has had access to the president’s daily brief, the most highly classified document that Trump sees. 
 
 “He cannot see the PDB, not a chance,” said Bradley Moss, a lawyer who specializes in national security law and clearances. “He no longer has access to a range of intelligence information that ordinarily someone in his position and somebody with his responsibilities would normally be privy to in order to perform their functions.” 
 
 Moss said Kushner and others will be debriefed by officials in the White House security office, an event scheduled to take place Thursday, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. “They’re going to give him a list, ‘Here’s what you’ve been debriefed from, you’ve been debriefed from this program and that compartment, you no longer have any access to it, and any breach of that would be a serious security violation and a possible criminal issue.’” 
 
 Kelly took the rare step last week of issuing a public statement that Kushner would be able to continue his work in the White House unfettered. 
 
 “As I told Jared days ago, I have full confidence in his ability to continue performing his duties in his foreign policy portfolio including overseeing our Israeli-Palestinian peace effort and serving as an integral part of our relationship with Mexico,” Kelly said in the statement. 
 
 It was unclear whether Kushner would need access to top secret information to continue performing those duties — and whether Kelly was personally prepared to enact a policy that could be perceived as a jab at the president’s son-in-law. 
 
 The decision to downgrade White House staffers still working on interim clearances, however, indicates that Kelly is prepared to impose the same sort of discipline on the White House clearance process that he has tried to impose on the West Wing staff more broadly. 
 
 “The American people deserve a White House staff that meets the highest standards and that has been carefully vetted — especially those who work closely with the president or handle sensitive national security information,” Kelly told colleagues in a memo circulated on Feb. 16. “We should — and in the future, must — do better.” 
 
 Earlier this month, director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said in a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing that people with temporary security clearances should get only limited access to sensitive classified information. Coats did not mention any specific individuals. 
 
 “Sometimes it is necessary to have some type of preliminary clearance in order to fill a slot, but … access has to be limited in terms of the kinds of information they can be in a position to receive or not receive,” Coats said. “It needs to be reformed.” 
 
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 Kushner has seen his once-expansive West Wing role steadily curtailed since Kelly’s arrival last July. The new chief immediately required Kushner and his wife, first daughter Ivanka Trump, to report through him rather than directly to the president. 
 
 The pair have also seen their circle of trusted allies shrink in recent weeks. Reed Cordish, who joined the White House early on as part of Kushner’s Office of American Innovation, left the White House earlier this month. 
 
 Communications staffer Josh Raffel, who handles requests involving Kushner and Ivanka Trump, also plans to leave in the next two months, according to two people familiar with his decision. Raffel did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The news of his departure was first reported by Axios. 
 
 Emily Stephenson and Annie Karni contributed to this report.
– It took a while, but presidential son-in-law and top adviser Jared Kushner has received his permanent security clearance, reports the New York Times. Kushner had been stripped of his top-level clearance in February as the White House tightened policy in the wake of the Rob Porter scandal, notes CNN. But the FBI recently completed its background check into Kushner's financial history and foreign business dealings and found no red flags, reports the Washington Post. "As we stated before, his application was properly submitted, reviewed by numerous career officials and underwent the normal process," says Kushner attorney Abbe Lowell. "Having completed all of these processes, he’s looking forward to continuing to do the work the president has asked him to do.” Lowell also revealed that Kushner has voluntarily sat for two long interviews with Robert Mueller's team, answering questions about Michael Flynn and Kushner's work on the campaign and in the White House.