14 Democratic Senators Vote to Advance Trump’s Controversial Nominee for Ambassador to China

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

On Monday, 14 Democratic lawmakers voted to invoke cloture on the nomination of former Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) as U.S. ambassador to China.

After losing reelection to the U.S. Senate to Jon Ossoff (D) in a runoff in 2021, Perdue secured Trump’s endorsement in a primary challenge to Governor Brian Kemp in 2022. The president was furious with Kemp because the governor dared to defend Georgia’s 2020 presidential election result, in which Joe Biden carried the state. Trump falsely alleged that Georgia was one of several states where the election had been stolen. Perdue was more than happy to humor Trump’s election lies en route to his unsuccessful race against Kemp.

“Folks, that all started right here when Brian Kemp sold us out and allowed radicals to steal the election,” Perdue said in an ad back in 2022. “Enough is enough. I’ll make sure our elections are never stolen again.”

Perdue’s nomination as ambassador cleared a key hurdle on Monday, as more than enough Democrats voted to advance the nominee to a simple majority vote. The vote was 64-27 in favor of cloture, which requires 60 votes. Here are the 14 Democrats who voted in favor (including one independent who caucuses with the Democrats):

Cory Booker (NJ)

Chris Coons (DE)

Tammy Duckworth (IL)

Ruben Gallego (AZ)

Maggie Hassan (NH)

Andy Kim (NJ)

Angus King (I-ME)

Amy Klobuchar (MN)

Gary Peters (MI)

Jack Reed (RI)

Jacky Rosen (NV)

Janne Shaheen (NH)

Elissa Slotkin (MI)

Mark Warner (VA)

Perdue faced mild scrutiny over his practices as the CEO of a failed North Carolina textile company, whose jobs he admitted to outsourcing to countries such as China.