The Senate confirmed New Jersey real estate developer Charles Kushner to be ambassador to France.
Charles Kushner is the father-in-law of President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka.
Kushner was confirmed 51-45 by the Senate.
He overcame the scrutiny of his past convictions for tax evasion and illegal campaign contributions.
President Trump pardoned Kushner in December 2020, citing his charitable work.
Kushner was prosecuted by then-U.S. Attorney Chris Christie for tax evasion, illegal campaign contributions, and witness tampering.
The witness tampering charge stemmed from Kushner’s effort to blackmail his brother-in-law by hiring a prostitute to seduce him.
Kushner spent two years in federal prison for his crimes.
Addressing the Senate, Kushner expressed remorse for his past, saying he had learned from his mistakes.
“I don’t sit here before you today and tell you I’m a perfect person,” Kushner told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during his confirmation hearing.
“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 said.
“I think that my past mistakes actually make me better with my judgment, better in my view of life, better in my values, to really make me more qualified to do this job.”
New Jersey Democrat Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a regular Trump critic, voted to confirm Kushner.
He was the only Democrat to do so.
Kushner, a New Jersey real estate mogul, supported Booker’s political career early on in Newark.
He backed Booker’s first unsuccessful bid to be mayor of the city, as reported by the New Jersey Globe.
Booker defended his vote for Kushner, pointing to his work on the First Step Act.
The First Step Act is the criminal justice reform law signed by Trump in his first term.
“I have passionate differences and disagreements with Charlie Kushner, but I supported his confirmation because he has been unrelenting in reforming our criminal justice system and has substantively helped achieve the liberation of thousands of people from unjust incarceration,” Kushner said.
At his confirmation hearing, Kushner acknowledged Booker for his “special and close friendship.”
Trump called the founder of Kushner Companies a “tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmaker” while announcing his nomination for the ambassadorial post.
Kushner’s son, Jared, is the husband of Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter.
Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump served as top advisers in the president’s first term in the White House.
However, opted not to return to politics for Trump’s second term.
