Trump selects former fast food chain CEO Andrew Puzder as European Union ambassador

President Trump chose Andrew Puzder, the former CEO of a fast-food chain whom he tried to appoint to his first White House Cabinet, to be his ambassador to the European Union.

Trump praised Puzder, the former head of CKE Restaurants, for leading fast-food chains like Carl’s Jr. Hardee’s exit from “serious financial difficulties”, he said in a social media post that he would “do an excellent job” as US ambassador. European Union.

Puzder welcomed the announcement in a post on social media site “Together, we will protect America’s interests in the European Union.”

This is the second time that Trump has appointed Puzder to a senior administrative position, after the former CEO of a restaurant chain withdrew from his nomination for the position of Secretary of Labor during Trump’s first term in the face of Republican opposition.

Puzder withdrew his nomination to lead the Department of Labor in 2017 before a confirmation hearing was held, as several GOP senators at the time appeared poised to oppose him amid allegations of past mistreatment of his wife and his hiring of an illegal immigrant as a housekeeper. He denied the accusations that resurfaced, and his ex-wife retracted the allegations.

As a candidate for the position of ambassador to the European Union, Puzder will have to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which will hold the initial vote on his nomination.

The nomination comes as Trump has put the European Union in his economic crosshairs during his second term, criticizing the 27-nation bloc as “very bad” for the United States and threatening to impose tariffs “to do justice.”

Trump focused on the trade deficit with the bloc and called on the European Union to buy more American oil and gas.

While some tariff threats could lead to a trade war with the bloc, some European officials hope Trump can pressure Kremlin-friendly countries in the bloc to stop sourcing Russian energy resources in exchange for American energy. This includes Hungary and its Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a close ally of Trump; Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico.

Another area where Trump is likely to pressure the EU is support for Ukraine. During his election campaign, Trump constantly criticized European countries and described them as failing to play a leadership role in supporting Kiev in its defensive war against Russia.

While the United States outpaces Europe in military contributions to Ukraine, Europe as a whole has provided greater overall aid, according to the Ukraine Support Tracker.

Europe has contributed nearly $130 billion in aid to Ukraine compared to about $92 billion since February 2022, the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, according to the tracker.

Another key area of ​​US-EU relations is how the bloc deals with China, with the US concerned about trade and commerce deals with Beijing that either harm US companies or pose threats to national security due to the sharing of critical technologies and communications services, among other issues.