President-elect Donald Trump Chooses Charles Kushner as Ambassador to France
President-elect Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he has chosen New York real estate developer Charles Kushner to be his Ambassador to France, calling him âa tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmakerâ in a social media post.
âCongratulations to Charlie, his wonderful wife Seryl, their 4 children, & 14 grandchildren,â Trump wrote. âHis son, Jared, worked closely with me in the White House, in particular on Operation Warp Speed, Criminal Justice Reform, & the Abraham Accords. Together, we will strengthen Americaâs partnership with France, our oldest Ally, & one of our greatest!â
All U.S. ambassador nominees must be confirmed by the Senate. If confirmed, Kushner would take over the role from Denise Campbell Bauer.
The 70-year-old business mogul is the founder of private real estate firm Kushner Companies and was also an attorney. His son Jared Kushner is married to Trumpâs daughter Ivanka and was a senior adviser to Trump during his first term.
In 2005, the elder Kushner was convicted by a federal jury of making illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion and witness tampering. Former New Jersey governor and federal prosecutor Chris Christie brought the charges against Kushner, calling it âone of the most loathsome, disgusting crimesâ he ever prosecuted. Kushner served two years in prison before returning to his real estate business.
Trump pardoned Kushner in 2020, just one month before the end of his first term.
Franceâs relationship with the U.S. is particularly important on issues like trade and security, amid fears that Trump may pull the U.S. out of the NATO military alliance.
Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney contributed reporting.
