Charles Kushner, a real estate mogul and the father of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, was confirmed Monday by the Senate to serve as the U.S. ambassador to France despite felony convictions that were wiped away by presidential pardon.
The president picked Kushner for the post several weeks after his November reelection victory. His son, Jared, was a senior adviser to the president during his first term, and helped broker the Abraham Accords, one of Trump’s signature foreign policy achievements.
Kushner was confirmed by a 51-45 vote, with his New Jersey home state Sen. Cory Booker the lone Democrat voting in favor. One Republican, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, cast a ballot against confirmation.
Kushner in 2005 pleaded guilty to counts of assisting in the filing of false tax returns, witness retaliation and making false statements to the Federal Election Commission, for which he served two years in prison. In December 2020, just before the end of his first term, Trump pardoned Kushner. Former Trump ally turned 2024 Republican primary opponent Chris Christie, who brought the charges against Kushner when he was a federal prosecutor, said his case was “one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes that I prosecuted when I was U.S. attorney.”
“My misjudgment and mistake was over twenty years ago,” Kushner said at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in May. “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.”
Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state argued that Kushner is not an appropriate pick for the diplomatic post.
“Charles Kushner was convicted of making false statements to the FEC and pleaded guilty to tax evasion & witness tampering,” Murray said in a post on X prior to the vote. “And Trump pardoned him. Of course, I voted NO to advance Kushner’s nomination as AMBASSADOR TO FRANCE.”
Kushner isn’t the only in-law for whom Trump has found a place in government. Massad Boulos, the father-in-law of Tiffany Trump, the president’s youngest daughter, serves as a senior adviser in the administration.
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