Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on May 20, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleCharles Kushner, pardoned by Trump, confirmed by the US Senate as ambassador to France, with a 51-45 vote.
By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Senate on Monday confirmed Charles Kushner, father of President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and the recipient of a presidential pardon after his conviction for witness tampering and tax evasion, to be ambassador to France.
The Senate backed Kushner 51 to 45. Senator Cory Booker, who represents Kushner's home state of New Jersey, was the only Democrat to vote along with Trump's fellow Republicans in favor of the nomination. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska was the only Republican who opposed it.
Kushner pleaded guilty in 2005 to 18 federal counts, including tax evasion, retaliating against a federal witness and lying to the Federal Election Commission. He served two years in prison, the maximum allowed in a plea deal.
Prosecutors at the time said Kushner learned that his brother-in-law was cooperating with a federal investigation and hired a prostitute to lure him to a motel room for an encounter recorded with a hidden camera and sent the tape to the brother-in-law's wife, Kushner's sister.
Trump pardoned Kushner, whose son is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka, in 2020.
Kushner's confirmation was not a surprise. Trump's fellow Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate and have confirmed every Trump nominee who has come up for a vote in the chamber since the president's second term began on January 20.
Kushner said at his confirmation hearing that he acknowledged past "serious mistakes," and said they might make him a better ambassador, because he had paid a price for poor judgment.
(Reporting by Patricia ZengerleEditing by Shri Navaratnam)
The confirmation of Charles Kushner as the US ambassador to France by the Senate.
Senator Cory Booker was the only Democrat to support the nomination.
Kushner was convicted of tax evasion and witness tampering.
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