by Dave Williams | Apr 29, 2025 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – The U.S. Senate confirmed former Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., Tuesday as United States ambassador to China, multiple news outlets reported.
Perdue received some bipartisan support in the 67-29 confirmation vote, with 15 Senate Democrats joining 51 Republicans and one independent in supporting his nomination.
During one six-year term in the Senate, Perdue was a staunch ally of President Donald Trump during the latter’s first term in office. Trump backed Perdue’s unsuccessful Republican primary challenge in 2022 to Gov. Brian Kemp, who had angered Trump for refusing to aid the president’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia after his reelection defeat at the hands of Democrat Joe Biden.
Perdue was elected to the Senate in 2014 but lost his bid for a second term to Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.
Before joining the Senate, Perdue gained significant business experience in the Far East, including China, in his roles as CEO of Dollar General and as a top executive at Reebok and Sara Lee.
Perdue’s new role will put him at the center of a trade war between the U.S. and China, with Trump slapping a 145% tariff on Chinese imports early this month and China reciprocating. During confirmation hearings, Perdue said he would make reducing China’s exports to Mexico of chemicals used to produce fentanyl a top priority.
