Washington (CNN) White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said chief of staff John Kelly's new security clearance directive will not affect Jared Kushner's work as a top White House staffer.

Sanders declined on Tuesday to get into Kushner's clearance status but said "nothing that has taken place will affect the valuable work Jared is doing."

Kelly said in a statement later Tuesday that he would not comment on security clearances but that he had expressed his confidence in Kushner's 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."

"Everyone in the White House is grateful for these valuable contributions to furthering the President's agenda. There is no truth to any suggestion otherwise," Kelly's statement said.

Nearly a year into the Trump administration, senior-level staffers -- including Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner -- remained on interim clearances even as other senior advisers were granted full security access, according to information obtained by CNN from a US government official

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