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Carl's Jr. for Ambassador to the European Union [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-01-23

The ambassador to the European Union is going to be the CEO of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's, CKE Restaurants.

Andrew F. Pudzer

His name is Andrew F. Pudzer. Great last name. The first thing you should know is that he was Trump's first failed nominee in 2017. He was to be Secretary of Labor. He faced opposition from both sides of the aisle.

Even Tim Scott couldn't handle his nomination.

"As revelations regarding paying employees in cash, illegal immigration, and comments regarding some of the American workforce came to light, I developed serious concerns regarding his nomination."

There were also allegations, since retracted, of course, of domestic abuse by his ex-wife. He also had a housekeeper which was not in the country legally.

Labor unions were also against him. They figured that he would work to keep the minimum wage where it was and cut down on overtime pay, among other things. The head of the AFL-CIO asked how he could possibly go out and defend workers.

But he also espoused a moderate comprehensive immigration reform. This created critics of him on the right. He got hit from both sides.

So he withdrew his nomination and stuck with being the CEO of CKE Restaurants.

Now Trump nominates him again, this time to be the Ambassador to the European Union. Totally different job and skill set. Why are we seeing so many businessmen being nominated for positions in Trump's cabinet and ambassadors? What about people that are actually educated in international relations or scientific backgrounds for positions that require it? Everything is about people who handle money.

All the people that had qualms about him in the first nomination are still in the Senate. Are they going to give him a pass this time because Trump says so? He's not like Pete Hegseth or Tulsi Gabbard, who everyone should be against.

His experience with Carl's Jr. was as a corporate lawyer. He helped Carl Karcher, the founder of Carl's Jr., get out of a Securities and Exchange Commission insider trading lawsuit.

When the chain fell into financial trouble in the 1990s, he got them out of it and he was named CEO in 2000.

The real question is Trump going to start eating at Carl's Jr. instead of McDonald's?

The European Union is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. They speak French, Dutch and German. So he could still be a Burgermeister☆. He'll also need to learn how to count in euros. Never mind, that's a decimal currency just like dollars.

Really? Ambassador to the EU residence in the middle.

His official residence in Brussels doesn't look like much. Certainly doesn't appear ambassadory. Not even a US flag outside.

Just for comparison here is the picture of the Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium's residence.

Whitlock Hall

Maybe Trump wasn't giving him such a great job after all. Same city, different housing.

So, will Pudzer's checkered past come back to haunt him, or will the new position, being so different, give him a pass? We'll find out when the Senate gets around to him. In the meantime, Trump should double up and run the French fryer at a Carl's Jr.

If Trump ever gets mad at France, he could do what people did in 2003 when French fries were called Freedom fries. That was because of the President of France's opposition to the 2003 war in Iraq.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/1/23/2298577/-Carl-s-Jr-for-Amassador-to-the-European-Union?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

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