David Perdue

Perdue touted his business experience, and particularly his experience at Dollar General, in running for political office as a Republican candidate. According to Perdue: "We added about 2,200 stores, created almost 20,000 jobs and doubled the value of that company in a very short period of time. Not because of me, but because we listened to our customers and employees.” He received the endorsement of the National Federation of Independent Business.[27]

Perdue's political opponents targeted his business career during the campaign, specifically for outsourcing work offshore. Perdue said he was "proud of" finding lower-cost labor for some companies. Critics noted that he had contributed to a total of thousands of jobs lost following the final closure of Pillowtex, while Perdue left the company after nine months with a nearly $2 million buyout.[20][27] After being elected, Perdue stated that he wanted to bring the perspective of "a working person" to Washington, D.C.

Reports also highlighted the overlap and lack of transparency between Perdue's role as a Director of the Georgia Ports Authority from 2010-2013 and his founding with his cousin and former Governor Sonny Perdue of Perdue Partners, which acquired in 2012 a global logistics firm that provided transloading services at the Georgia ports.[28][29]

The race was considered to be competitive. Perdue won the general election, defeating the Democratic nominee Michelle Nunn 52.89% to 45.21%.[30]

Perdue is running for re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2020.[31]

At a 2018 campaign event for Brian Kemp, Perdue was asked a question about voter suppression by a student member of the Young Democratic Socialists of America. Perdue snatched the student's phone, which was being used to record, away from the student.[32]

In June 2016, at the Faith and Freedom Coalition's Road to Majority conference, Perdue said, "We should pray for Barack Obama. But I think we need to be very specific about how we pray. We should pray like Psalms 109:8 says. It says, 'Let his days be few, and let another have his office'".[33] In a statement, Perdue's office clarified: "He in no way wishes harm to our president and everyone in the room understood that".[34]

With a net worth of $15.8 million, Perdue is one of the wealthiest members of the Senate.[35] He became Georgia's senior Senator after Johnny Isakson resigned on December 31, 2019.

• Senate Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Cybersecurity
  • Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support
  • Subcommittee on Seapower (Chair)
• Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development (Chair)
  • Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment
• Senate Committee on the Budget
• Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
  • Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism
  • Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights and Global Women's Issues
  • Subcommittee on State Department and USAID Management, International Operations and Bilateral International Development
  • Subcommittee on International Development, Multilateral Institutions and International Economic, Energy and Environmental Policy
• Special Committee on Aging

• Senate Republican Conference

Perdue was one of 22 senators to sign a letter[37] to President Donald Trump urging him to have the United States withdraw from the Paris Agreement. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Perdue has received over $180,000 from oil, gas and coal interests since 2012.[38]

Perdue is a close ally of President Donald Trump.[39][40] Perdue fought to prevent the Senate from blocking the Chinese telecom firm ZTE from purchasing American components.[41] The Commerce Department had barred ZTE from doing so for seven years after it accused the firm of having deceived US regulators and violated sanctions on Iran and North Korea.[41] In July 2018, Perdue said that he opposed tariffs but that he would support President Trump on his tariff increases.[39]

On January 11, 2018, Perdue attended a meeting at the White House where, according to people with direct knowledge of the conversation, President Trump stated that Haiti, El Salvador and African countries were "shithole nations" and that the United States should not take in immigrants from these countries.[42] Perdue stated that he did not recall these statements by the President.[43][44][45] Perdue was criticized by veteran journalist Tom Brokaw who suggested that the senator should get a hearing aid at Costco.[46] Then on Sunday, January 14, 2018, Perdue stated on ABC's “This Week” that he now remembered that President Trump did not use those words just days after he said he did not recall them.[47]

Perdue stated in October 2017 that the national debt was the greatest threat to the security of the United States.[48] In December 2017, Perdue voted in favor of the Republican tax plan called the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that was estimated to increase the national debt one trillion dollars in ten years by slashing individual and corporate tax rates.[49][50][51][52] Perdue voted in favor of the 2017 budget, which was estimated to add as much as $1.5 trillion to deficits over ten years.[53] Perdue said he voted for the budget, because "the $1.5 trillion is an investment to grow the economy."[53]

He supports a constitutional balanced budget amendment and comprehensive tax reform.[54]

In September 2018, Perdue was among six Republican senators, Jeff Flake, Mike Lee, Rand Paul, Ben Sasse, and Pat Toomey, as well as Bernie Sanders, that voted against a $854 billion spending bill, meant to avoid a government shutdown. Said bill included funding for the departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Labor and Education.[55]

In April 2018, Perdue was one of eight Republican senators to sign a letter to United States Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin and acting Secretary of State John Sullivan expressing "deep concern" over a report by the United Nations exposing "North Korean sanctions evasion involving Russia and China" and asserting that the findings "demonstrate an elaborate and alarming military-venture between rogue, tyrannical states to avoid United States and international sanctions and inflict terror and death upon thousands of innocent people" while calling it "imperative that the United States provides a swift and appropriate response to the continued use of chemical weapons used by President Assad and his forces, and works to address the shortcomings in sanctions enforcement."[56]

In March 2017, Perdue co-sponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act (s. 720), which made it a federal crime for Americans to encourage or participate in boycotts against Israel and Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories if protesting actions by the Israeli government.[57][58]

In November 2019, Perdue blocked a vote on recognizing the Armenian genocide after receiving a White House request to do so.[59]

Perdue supports repealing and replacing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.[60] He opposes abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, or endangerment to the life of the mother.[61]

In 2017, Perdue co-sponsored the RAISE Act, which would implement a points-based system of immigration, similar to that used in Canada and Australia, and would reduce legal immigration by 50% and cap refugee admissions to 50,000 individuals per year. He supports strictly enforcing current immigration laws and preventing illegal entry into the United States.[62]

In June 2019, Perdue defended Trump's decision to place tariffs on Mexico unless illegal immigration from Mexico stopped. Perdue said, "He has to use a hammer. We're being invaded right now."[63]

In April 2020, Perdue was one of nearly 100 lawmakers to be appointed to President Trump's bi-partisan Congressional Economic Task Force. Perdue along with the rest of the task force will be working to reenergize the economy as the country recovers from COVID-19.[64]

Republican senator Tom Cotton (left) with president Donald Trump and David Perdue (right).