ATLANTA – Another Georgian is poised to join the second Trump administration.
President-elect Donald Trump nominated former U.S. Sen. David Perdue Thursday to serve as U.S. ambassador to China.
Before his election to the Senate in 2014, Republican Perdue had 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.
“He will be instrumental in implementing my strategy to maintain peace in the region, and a productive working relationship with China’s leaders,” Trump wrote in a social media post.
Democrats were quick to criticize the nomination, accusing Perdue of shipping U.S. jobs overseas during his business career.
“Donald Trump is rewarding yet another ultra-MAGA loyalist who built his fortune by selling out the American people,” said Alex Floyd, rapid response director for the Democratic National Committee. “David Perdue can’t be trusted to stand up for American workers.”
Perdue served one six-year term in the Senate before losing a bid for a second term to current Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga.
In 2022, Trump backed Perdue in an unsuccessful primary challenge to Gov. Brian Kemp. The governor had angered Trump for refusing to aid the latter’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia, where Joe Biden became the first Democrat to carry the state since 1992.
Perdue’s nomination is subject to confirmation by the Senate, where Republicans will be in the majority starting next month.
Trump already has chosen former U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville, to head the Veterans Administration and former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., to run the Small Business Administration.