The Trump administration's envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, has a major asset: a direct line to Donald Trump, a source close to the president-elect told Axios. Why it matters: Witkoff faces a crisis in the Middle East and the biggest war between Israelis and Palestinians since 1948 as he starts the job.

Witkoff met Trump in the 1990s when he was building a real estate empire and Trump was buying Manhattan properties.

President-elect Donald Trump has made another move to fill out his administration with his choice to appoint Steve Witkoff as the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East. Witkoff is far from an establishment politician or lifetime government worker.