Pres. Trump to Announce Alexander Acosta as New Labor Secretary Pick

[SirLinksALot]

SOURCE: NBC NEWS

URL: http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-announces-alexander-acosta-new-labor-secretary-pick-n721771

by Peter Alexander and Ali Vitali


President Donald Trump is set to announce Alexander Acosta as his new pick to head the Department of Labor, less than a day after his first choice for the job, Andy Puzder, withdrew from consideration.


U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta

Acosta served as assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division under President George W. Bush, selected by the president in August 2003. Acosta was a member of the National Labor Relations Board and also served as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division. Most recently, he was the dean of Florida International University College of Law.

If confirmed, Acosta would be the first Hispanic in Trump's cabinet.

Puzder, Trump's first pick withdrew after struggling to gain traction for his nomination.

Puzder, the head of CKE Restaurants, which owns Hardee's and Carl's Jr., faced harsh criticism from Democrats and liberal groups for his opposition to raising the minimum wage, previous controversial comments and the racy ads for his company's fast-food chains. Multiple Republican senators also pulled their support.

White House senior officials told NBC News Wednesday night they saw the "erosion of the support" for Puzder, one official stating bluntly the numbers just weren't adding up in his nomination fight. "We know how to count," the official said.

The cabinet-level defeat comes as the White House still reels from the dismissal of National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. Flynn tendered his resignation Monday night after misleading Vice President Mike Pence, and others, as to the nature of his calls with a Russian diplomat before Trump took office

[mystery-ak]

Trump unveils new pick to head Labor Department
By Lydia Wheeler - 02/16/17 12:58 PM EST

President Trump on Thursday announced he was nominating Alexander Acosta to be his Labor secretary, less than 24 hours after his first nominee for the position withdrew amid criticism by Republican senators.
 
"He has had a tremendous career," Trump said of Acosta in a press conference at the White House, listing off highlights of his nominee's resume. Acosta was not present at the press conference.

more
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/319893-trump-unveils-new-pick-to-head-labor-department

[Oceander]

Is Acosta going to be hard on or compliant with the unions?

[corbe]

   @Oceander   being that GWB appointed him to the NLRB in 2002 I doubt if he's Union friendly, he also clerked for Alito after grad school.

He has served in three presidentially appointed, senate-confirmed positions. He was a member of the National Labor Relations Board, appointed by George W. Bush, from 2002 to 2003, where he participated in or authored more than 125 opinions

Following law school, Acosta served as a law clerk to Samuel Alito, then a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, from 1994 to 1995. Acosta then worked at the Washington, D.C. office of the law firm Kirkland & Ellis, where he specialized in employment and labor issues. While in Washington, Acosta taught classes on employment law, disability-based discrimination law, and civil rights law at the George Mason University School of Law.

From 1998 to 2000 Acosta was a senior fellow at the socially conservative Ethics and Public Policy Center. [1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Acosta#U.S._Attorney_for_Southern_District_of_Florida

[Oceander]

   @Oceander   being that GWB appointed him to the NLRB in 2002 I doubt if he's Union friendly, he also clerked for Alito after grad school.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Acosta#U.S._Attorney_for_Southern_District_of_Florida

Let's hope he's not a "compassionate conservative" cause that's basically just code for a liberal.