Cory Booker Faces Backlash After Voting to Confirm Charles Kushner as Ambassador

Cory Booker Faces Backlash After Voting To Confirm Charles Kushner As Ambassador

Well, that was unexpected.

Senator Cory Booker — yes, that Cory Booker — just voted to confirm Charles Kushner, Jared’s dad, as U.S. Ambassador to France. And social media is having none of it.

Kushner, a real estate mogul with a rap sheet that includes tax evasion, witness tampering, and illegal campaign donations, squeaked through the Senate confirmation in a 51–45 vote on Monday. Booker was the only Democrat to give a thumbs-up.

That sound you hear? A collective gasp from progressives.

This is the same Charles Kushner who went to federal prison in 2005. The same Charles Kushner who was pardoned by Donald Trump in the final weeks of his presidency. And now? He’s heading to Paris — baguette in one hand, ambassador badge in the other.

According to The Washington Post, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski voted no, making Booker’s “yes” stand out even more. Like, spotlight-at-the-Grammys level stand out.

And the internet noticed.

The backlash was swift. “Is this the same Booker who filibustered against Trump appointees for 25 hours straight?” one X (formerly Twitter) user wrote. Another chimed in: “Booker just handed Jared Kushner’s dad a diplomatic passport. What timeline is this?”

Cory Booker probably not getting quite the same ActBlue fundraising bonanza for this vote as he did for his 24hr+ speech on why it was essential to resist Donald Trump. https://t.co/mhRO8hCciu

— Rob Pyers (@rpyers) May 20, 2025

Let’s rewind a bit. Booker and the Kushners go way back. Like, early 2010s back. Jared and Ivanka reportedly helped raise over $40,000 for Booker’s 2013 Senate campaign, according to The Hill. Booker’s past answer to that: “I don’t regret it… they were Democrats then.”

But times change. And so, it seems, do political lines.

Some critics are pointing out the not-so-great optics of voting for the father of a former Trump senior advisor. Especially one with a federal criminal history.

Booker hasn’t publicly commented yet. He may be letting the vote — and the chaos — speak for itself.

Meanwhile, Charles Kushner is prepping for Paris. From prison stripes to pinstripes, it’s a redemption arc that sounds more like a prestige drama than a State Department gig.

Or maybe just politics in 2025.