President Trump has chosen former fast food chain CEO Andrew Puzder, who he sought to install in the first White House Cabinet, to be ambassador to the European Union.
President Trump praised Puzder, the former head of CKE restaurants, for guiding fast-food chains like Carl's Jr. and Hardee's out of “severe financial difficulties,” and said in a social media post that Puzder would serve as an ambassador. “He'll do a great job,” he said. EU.
Puzder welcomed the announcement in a post on social media site X late Wednesday, saying he was “honored to support the international implementation of the Trump administration's policies.” Together we will protect America's interests in the EU. ”
This is the second time that Mr. Trump has chosen Mr. Puzder to lead his administration, after the former restaurant chain executive withdrew his candidacy for labor secretary during President Trump's first term due to opposition from Republicans.
Puzder withdrew his nomination to head the Department of Labor in 2017 ahead of his confirmation hearing, and several Republican senators opposed him at the time amid allegations of spousal abuse and hiring an illegal immigrant as a domestic worker. He was showing that he was prepared to do so. He denied the resurfaced allegations and his ex-wife retracted the allegations.
As a candidate for ambassador to the EU, Puzder must appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which will take the first vote on his nomination.
The nominations come as President Trump has made the EU an economic target for his second term in office, criticizing the 27-nation bloc as “very bad” for the United States and calling it a “fair trade”. threatens to impose tariffs to obtain
President Trump focused on the trade deficit with the EU and called on the EU to increase its purchases of US oil and gas.
While some of the tariff threats could spark a trade war within the region, some European officials have warned that President Trump could force Kremlin allies in the region to take advantage of Russian energy resources in exchange for U.S. energy. They hope they can put pressure on them to withdraw. This includes Hungary and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a close ally of President Trump. and Slovakia's Prime Minister Roberto Fico.
Another area in which President Trump is likely to put pressure on the EU is over aid to Ukraine. During his campaign, Trump consistently criticized European countries for failing to play a leading role in supporting Kiev in its defensive war against Russia.
Although the United States has made more military contributions to Ukraine than Europe, Europe as a whole provides more comprehensive support, the report said. ukraine support tracker.
According to the tracker, Europe has provided about $130 billion in aid to Ukraine since February 2022, when Russia's full-scale invasion began, compared to about $92 billion.
Another key area of the U.S.-EU relationship is how the EU deals with China, where the U.S., among other things, may harm U.S. companies over the sharing of critical technology and telecommunications services. , are concerned about trade and business dealings with Beijing that pose national security threats.
