The US Senate has confirmed Charles Kushner, the father of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, to serve as ambassador to France.
The 70-year-old real estate developer, who received a presidential pardon from Trump in December 2020 over convictions for witness tampering and tax evasion, was confirmed by a 51-45 vote in the Senate on Monday.
When Trump announced his desire to nominate Kushner in November, the US president called him “a tremendous business leader, philanthropist, and dealmaker.” Kushner’s son Jared is a former White House adviser who is married to Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka.
At his confirmation hearing on 1 May before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Kushner was asked about his criminal past. He was sentenced in 2005 to two years in prison after pleading guilty to 18 counts.
“My misjudgement and mistake was over 20 years ago,” Kushner told the hearing.
“Since then, I’ve been pardoned by President Trump. But I don’t sit here before you today and tell you I’m a perfect person. I am not a perfect person. I made a very very very serious mistake, and I paid a very heavy price for that mistake,” he added.
Former New Jersey governor and Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie — who brought the charges against Kushner when he was a US attorney in the early 2000s — said his case was “one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes” he ever prosecuted.
Kushner will go to France as the relationship between the two traditional allies, and between Washington and the rest of Europe, has been strained over Trump’s trade policies and the US position on Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
At his confirmation hearing, Kushner said he would work closely with France to “bring greater balance to our important economic relationship” and also encourage France to “invest more in its defence capabilities, as well as lead the EU to align with the US vision of increased European commitments to security.”
It is unclear how Kushner’s appointment will be received in France. After Trump announced his nomination in November, Gérard Araud, a former French ambassador to the US, was among several people to express scepticism or criticism over the decision.
“Needless to say, he has no knowledge of our country. At least he will have access to the president. We console ourselves as best we can,” Araud wrote in a post on X.
Senator Cory Booker, who represents Kushner’s home state of New Jersey, was the lone Democrat to vote in favour on Monday. One Republican, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, voted against it.
Additional sources • AP