WASHINGTON — Sixteen Democrats joined Republicans in voting to confirm former Georgia U.S. Sen. David Perdue as President Donald Trump’s ambassador to China.
Perdue is expected to be sworn in quickly, allowing him to officially begin his work negotiating the business and political relationships between the United States and China, an essential, but often hostile, trading partner.
Georgia Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock both voted against confirming Perdue. The final tally was 67-29.
Warnock said that he believes Perdue is the wrong person for the job given Trump’s efforts to impose massive tariffs on goods from China and other foreign nations. Trump’s tariff threats have rocked the stock market and led to concerns that the nation could be pushed into a recession.
“We have stand up to China; I’ve supported efforts to do the same,” Warnock said. “But what we’ve seen is sweeping tariffs, and it is devastating in our state. And I don’t see any evidence Perdue will stand up to that.”
Generally, Trump’s nominees who served in Congress have been more likely to garner bipartisan support in confirmation votes. However, Democrats have been less likely to vote for the president’s picks out of anger at the mass layoffs, cuts in government spending and culture war fights Trump has waged since taking office.
Senators who supported Perdue cited his experience both in the Senate and as an executive at major retail brands, saying he had the resume necessary to fill one of the most important diplomatic posts.
Perdue served one term in the U.S. Senate from 2015 to 2021, where he was assigned to both the Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees. During that time, he met with China’s top trade negotiators and publicly backed Trump’s trade strategy in Asia during his first term in the White House.
Before running for office, Perdue led companies like Dollar General and Reebok and spent time living in Singapore and Hong Kong.
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