WASHINGTON – President elect-Donald Trump said Thursday that he plans to nominate former Georgia GOP Sen. David Perdue to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to China.
A business executive who helmed Reebok and Dollar General as CEO, Perdue served as the junior senator from Georgia in early 2015 but lost his bid for a second term in the 2020 election. Perdue’s appointment, which requires Senate confirmation, comes at a time when Trump has promised to impose new tariffs on China and take a more aggressive approach to one of America’s biggest geopolitical rivals.
“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 on Truth Social. “David has been a loyal supporter and friend, and I look forward to working with him in his new role!”
Perdue is the third Georgia Republican picked to a key post by Trump. The incoming president earlier this week announced the nomination of former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler to head the Small Business Administration and last month tapped former U.S. Rep. Doug Collins for secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
In 2020, Perdue lost his bid for re-election against Jon Ossoff, who is now one of Georgia’s Democratic senators. Loeffler and Collins in 2020 also competed against each other for the state’s other Senate seat, with Loeffler advancing to a run-off election where she ultimately lost to Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock.
After the 2020 election, Perdue supported a lawsuit seeking to overturn the results of the White House race won by Joe Biden. Trump also supported Perdue’s unsuccessful 2022 campaign for Georgia governor, a race he lost during the GOP primaries to Gov. Brian Kemp.
A son of two schoolteachers, Perdue was born in Macon, Georgia. His father, David Alfred Perdue Sr., was a Democrat who, as superintendent of schools for Houston County, Georgia, from 1961 to 1980, oversaw the desegregation of the school system, according to Houston Home Journal.
Perdue holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and a master’s degree in operations research from Georgia Tech.
He began his career as a management consultant with Kurt Salmon Associates and has spanned many top positions includes serving as head of Asia operations for Sara Lee Corporation.
Trump wrote in his announcement that Perdue brings “valuable expertise to help build our relationship with China.”“He has lived in Singapore and Hong Kong, and worked in Asia and China for much of his career.”
(This story has been updated to correct the spelling on David Perdue’s last name and Raphael Warnock’s first name.)
