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Andrew Puzder Withdraws Nomination for USA Labor Secretary
from the world's-worst-boss dept.
The Hill reports [thehill.com]
Andy Puzder on [February 15] withdrew his nomination to become President Trump's secretary of Labor after it became apparent that he would not have enough Republican support to be confirmed.
The dramatic withdrawal came on the eve of Puzder's confirmation hearing and at the urging of Senate Republican leaders who warned that anywhere from four to 12 of their members could defect in a confirmation vote.
[...]Democrats and labor unions had assailed Puzder for his record as CEO of the fast-food conglomerate CKE Restaurants [originally Carl Karcher Enterprises], which owns the burger chains Hardee's and Carl's Jr.
"The fact that someone so anti-labor was even nominated shows how far President Trump is from where he campaigned", said Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer. "If President Trump is remotely serious about standing up for workers, he will nominate someone for Labor Secretary that champions workers' rights rather than suppresses them."
[...]Puzder's confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee--a hearing that had been delayed several times--appeared at risk of becoming a spectacle.
For starters, Puzder was certain to face tough questions about why he had for years employed an undocumented immigrant as a housekeeper--the type of offense that has doomed Cabinet nominees in the past.
Democrats were also likely to grill Puzder about accusations from his ex-wife, Lisa Fierstein, that he physically abused her.
[...]In perhaps the final straw for Puzder, his nomination was facing intense opposition from the right, with conservatives calling his selection a betrayal of Trump's promise to get tough on immigration.
[...]Puzder's withdrawal was yet another setback in a difficult week for the White House, coming just two days after Michael Flynn resigned as national security adviser under a cloud of accusations about his conversations with Russia's ambassador to the U.S.
