US President Donald Trump could keep the chairmanship of his proposed "Peace Board" for life, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing an anonymous US official.
The panel aims to help implement a US-brokered peace deal in Gaza, under a UN Security Council mandate.
However, its draft charter, reviewed by Bloomberg and other media outlets, suggests the Trump administration is seeking broader international powers. Trump has hinted that the board could try to replace the UN Security Council, arguing that the UN has “never fulfilled its potential.”
The possibility of lifetime leadership “is the latest problem” in the initiative, Bloomberg said. Previous reports indicated that panel members would have to pay regular fees of at least $1 billion, with funds controlled directly by the president.
The White House has named several proposed members of the panel, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff, without specifying whether their roles will be private or represent the U.S. Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, former U.K. prime minister Tony Blair and others are also on the list.
Several countries, including France, have refused to support the board in its proposed form, drawing criticism from Trump, who plans to formally launch it at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday.
Russia has confirmed that it has received an invitation for President Vladimir Putin to sit on the panel and said it is analyzing the details.
Trump has also alarmed European NATO members with his renewed attempt to buy Greenland from Denmark, claiming the island is essential to US national security and will become American territory "the easy way or the hard way."
