US Senate confirms Charles Kushner as ambassador to France

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US Senate on Monday confirmed Charles Kushner, the father of President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, as ambassador to France.

Trump's pick was confirmed in a 51-45 vote. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski voted against the confirmation. Sen. Cory Booker was the only Democrat who voted for Kushner.

Kushner will also serve concurrently and without additional compensation as Ambassador to the Principality of Monaco.

During his confirmation hearing on May 1, Kushner pledged to build an "even stronger" relationship between the US and France.

He pleaded guilty in 2005 to 18 federal counts, including tax evasion, lying to the Federal Election Commission and retaliating against a federal witness. He spent two years in prison, and Trump pardoned him in 2020.

During the hearing, Kushner acknowledged that he made a "very serious" mistake and paid a "very heavy price" for that mistake.

“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," he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.