Charles Kushner, the father of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and the man who was pardoned by the president following his conviction for tax fraud and witness tampering, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Monday to serve as ambassador to France.
Kushner was supported by the Senate 51 to 45. The sole Democrat to vote with Trump’s fellow Republicans in support of the nomination was Senator Cory Booker, who represents Kushner’s home state of New Jersey. The sole Republican to reject it was Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski.
Trump’s second term has further exacerbated the divide between France and the U.S., with France seeing a basic shift from alliance to confrontation or estrangement. Macron aims to navigate the relationship with diplomacy and resolve, but latent differences in security, trade, and world governance present formidable challenges for the Franco-American partnership in this era.
Did Trump’s pardon pave Kushner’s diplomatic path?
In 2005, Charles Kushner admitted to 18 federal charges, including tax evasion, retaliating against a federal witness, and filing false statements to the Federal Election Commission. He was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, the most he could have received under his plea agreement. Prosecutors outlined that Kushner discovered his brother-in-law was working as a cooperating federal witness.
In turn, Kushner hired a prostitute to entice his brother-in-law into a hotel room, secretly recorded the incident, and passed the tape along to his sister, the brother-in-law’s wife. Kushner admitted he paid $25,000 to arrange for the recruitment of the sex worker.
Charles Kushner was pardoned by President Donald Trump in December 2020. Kushner’s recent charity work was the White House’s reason for clemency. Jared Kushner, the husband of Ivanka Trump and daughter of Donald Trump, is the son of Charles Kushner. Following the president’s pardon, Kushner was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in May 2025 as ambassador to France, even with his criminal history. The charges were levied by former prosecutor Chris Christie, who called the case “one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes” he had ever prosecuted.
How has Trump’s second term affected U.S.-France ties?
Under Donald Trump’s second term as U.S. president (from January 2025), relations between France and the United States have been characterized by increased tensions, strong strategic differences, and a general cooling of the transatlantic relationship.
Former French President François Hollande referred to Trump’s second term as a “profound break” from Europe, adding that the Trump administration is “no longer our ally” because of its betrayal of Ukraine, its readiness to talk directly to Vladimir Putin, and its voting with Russia and North Korea at the UN against a European-sponsored resolution supporting Ukraine. This constitutes a sea change in the transatlantic relationship.
Trump’s “America First” policies continue to contradict France’s international agenda, which prioritizes environmental security, multilateralism, and European strategic autonomy. France perceives Trump’s policies as destabilizing, particularly his reluctance to engage with NATO and his willingness to accept Russia, which is at odds with France’s commitment to Ukraine and European security.
In spite of tensions, Macron has had a pragmatic yet somewhat personal relationship with Trump. Macron journeyed to Washington in February 2025 and confronted Trump on Ukraine and trade policy but did so in a friendly manner. Macron stressed that Ukrainian sovereignty needed to be defended and promote fair transatlantic trade. Macron’s style tries to cap damage and leave room for dialogue even with deep-seated differences.
