America’s workers won when Donald Trump's first choice for
Secretary of Labor Andrew Puzder recently withdrew his nomination, after it appeared
unlikely that Puzder could get even 50 votes in the Republican-controlled
Senate. Puzder, the CEO of Carl's, Jr. and Hardee's fast food restaurants, had
the kind of baggage that would have sunk any nominee in a previous
administration: his ex-wife had stated on Oprah that Puzder abused her,[1]
Puzder employed an undocumented housekeeper and failed to pay taxes until after
his nomination, and Puzder had long defended his restaurant chains’
hyper-sexualized ads featuring swimsuit models drooling over burgers.
More to the point, though, Carl's, Jr. and Hardee's
restaurants have a long record of wage violations and workplace sexual
harassment, and Puzder is a committed opponent of a federal minimum wage
increase from the current, unlivable rate of $7.25 per hour. Puzder's support for moderate immigration reform -- at odds with the Trump Administration -- seemed
informed more by a desire to increase the supply of cheaper, exploitable labor rather
than any humanitarian aims. In short, putting Puzder in charge of the
Department of Labor would have been an affront to America’s working families,
more like a charter for a new Department against Labor.
Puzder’s withdrawal is also an
encouraging development because it shows that at least some of the old rules
still apply to Trump, and, further, shows some cracks forming in Senate
Republicans’ support for the Administration and its nominees, regardless of
their qualifications (or lack thereof). Reportedly, Senators Collins (Maine)
and Murkowski (Alaska) expressed serious reservations after viewing the tape of
Puzder’s ex-wife on Oprah. Several
other Republican Senators were apparently more concerned about the undocumented
housekeeper than Puzder’s alleged spousal abuse. Regardless, the signals from certain Senate Republicans (and a united Democratic party) as to Puzder’s
disqualifying biography evoke a return to previous norms concerning suitability
for high public office.
Trump announced his replacement
nominee Alexander Acosta the very next day at the start of a 77-minute press
conference that subsequently devolved into the President reacting defensively
and returning to his standard line, when confronted with his failings, of
berating the reporters who dared to question him.
Acosta is the current dean of
Florida International University Law School, served in the Civil Rights
Division at the Department of Justice during the George W. Bush Administration,
and served on the National Labor Relations Board. If confirmed, he would be the
only Hispanic-American in Trump’s cabinet.
Acosta has considerable
government experience, having been confirmed by the U.S. Senate three times,
and is clearly more qualified to run his assigned agency as compared to many of
Trump’s “tremendous” nominees (see Betsy
DeVos, Ben Carson, Rick Perry). Acosta has testified in the Senate against the
anti-Muslim discrimination, which seems to be a unifying theme among many of
Trump’s supporters.
Acosta’s tenure in the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division
during the Bush Administration is cause for concern, given the rampant
politicization of personnel decisions during his tenure. Acosta also has no
record protecting workers’ rights, though Trump had pretended during the
campaign that as President he would be a working-class champion. Still, Acosta
is the kind of nominee one could expect to see in any Republican
administration, rather than being just another of Trump's rich, white friends who is
patently unqualified for high government service.
The collapse of Puzder’s
nomination, shortly following the resignation of National Security Advisor
Michael Flynn, is another major setback for the chaotic Trump Administration,
and another victory for our resistance. The replacement nomination of Acosta, a
fairly conventional Republican pick who will likely be easily confirmed, shows
how much political capital Trump has already lost due to the proliferation of
scandal, incompetence, and mismanagement during Trump’s first month in office.
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