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.

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.

Witkoff, who is Jewish and who has been friends with Trump since the 1980s when he bought Trump a sandwich after they worked on a real estate transaction, has no Middle East diplomatic experience.