Not long after he became a senior presidential adviser to Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, then 36, described himself to a prominent Republican as “primus inter pares”—the first among equals. Kushner’s vast policy portfolio—so broad it became a punch line—reflected his view that, as family, he and his wife, Ivanka Trump, would not be constrained by traditional lines of authority. Kushner’s vision of his role was largely true during the chaotic tenure of Chief of Staff Reince Priebus. But in the John Kelly era, Jared and Ivanka have both seen their bailiwicks dramatically shrink—and they have not been happy about it. For months, the couple has quietly pushed Trump to replace Kelly with a more malleable chief of staff, sources told me.

Now Jared and Ivanka’s conflict with Kelly, which has played out recently in the seesaw West Wing struggle over the Rob Porter domestic abuse scandal, is reaching an inflection point. Two weeks ago, Kelly was widely believed to be on his way out, with Jared and Ivanka helping to push. But on Friday, Kelly’s new rules cracking down on interim security clearances will go into effect. The updated protocols, drafted in the wake of the scandal, dictate that West Wing staffers whose permanent clearances have been pending since June 1 will no longer have access to classified material. That means Jared and Ivanka will be stripped of their unfettered access to government secrets, such as the President’s Daily Brief, unless Trump overrides Kelly’s decision. “This is Kelly’s way of saying, ‘it’s me or Jared,’” a Republican close to the White House told me. The rule change could be especially crippling for Kushner, whose main briefs are Middle East peace and China policy. It’s unclear how Kushner could continue to perform his job.

In recent days, Jared and Ivanka have been waging a multi-pronged counter-offensive to protect their access to classified intel. “Jared is fighting back. And Ivanka is fighting for her life,” a friend of the couple told me. According to the friend, Kushner has described Kelly as “worse than Priebus.” (A White House official denied this.) The Republican close to the White House told me: “Jared is fighting hard on this. He’s having people weigh in with Kelly.”

Kushner has even spoken with Rupert Murdoch and asked him to lobby the president on his behalf, the Republican close to the White House told me. (The White House official also denied this.) Meanwhile, Kushner’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, has released strongly worded statements saying Kelly’s policy “will not affect Mr. Kushner’s ability to continue to do the very important work he has been assigned by the president.” When I asked Lowell under what legal authority Kushner could still read the President’s Daily Brief, he did not respond.

The battle over Jared and Ivanka’s security clearances is exposing new fault lines in the West Wing as Kelly’s allies join the debate. According to two sources, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster has told Kelly that he supports Kelly over Kushner. The sources said that McMaster has lobbied C.I.A. Director Mike Pompeo and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats to support Kelly. Sources also said McMaster’s position is something of a betrayal of Kushner: last year, Jared and Ivanka rallied around McMaster when Steve Bannon was trying to drive McMaster out.

Ultimately, the only person who can resolve the conflict is the president. Trump has the unilateral authority to grant access to classified intel, so he could override Kelly. But this would create a political problem—the White House would have to explain why the president granted an exception to his family. This issue would continue in the event that Kelly were forced out. “Here’s the thing,” another Republican close to the White House said. “If they fuck Kelly, he’s fucked them on the way out, because if Kelly goes, Trump still has to explain why he’s given an exemption to his son-in-law and daughter.”

As a flanking maneuver, Kelly appears to have pulled off a masterstroke. Just a week ago, he was fighting to survive Trump’s White House. Now he’s potentially neutralizing his powerful adversaries as Kushner faces new questions about Robert Mueller’s interest in his contacts with foreign officials. As the White House works to soothe the nation in the aftermath of the horrific Parkland shooting, the last thing Trump would seem to want are days of headlines about another West Wing shake-up.