Florida law school dean is Trump’s new pick for labor,
President Donald Trump moved quickly Thursday to replace his first choice for labor secretary, choosing Alexander Acosta, a Florida law school dean and former assistant attorney general for civil rights. Acosta would be the only Hispanic in Trump’s Cabinet.
Andrew Puzder, a lawyer and fast-food executive, withdrew from consideration for the post Wednesday after it became clear enough Republicans in the Senate would vote against him to prevent his confirmation.
In Acosta, Trump chose a nominee with deep experience in labor relations, law and education. He addressed concerns about the lack of diversity in his administration. And he tapped someone whose chances of being confirmed appear to be relatively high, because Acosta has made it through the process three times for different roles.
“Alex is going to be a key part of achieving our goal of revitalizing the American economy, manufacturing and labor force,” Trump said as he called on the Senate to swiftly confirm him.
A Miami native, Acosta earned undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard University and was a clerk for now-Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito when Alito was still an appeals court judge. Acosta’s most relevant experience to the job of labor secretary was his time as a member of the National Labor Relations Board from 2002 to 2003 during the administration of former President George W. Bush. When his tenure there ended, Acosta was tapped by Bush to head the Justice Department’s civil rights division.
He went on to become the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, where his office prosecuted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, terrorism suspect Jose Padilla and founders of the Cali cartel. He convicted Charles Taylor Jr., the son of Liberia’s former leader, of torture. His official biography said his office also prosecuted several bank-related cases and targeted health care fraud.
The collapse of Puzder’s nomination under concerns that included his employment of an undocumented immigrant as a housekeeper was the latest blow for a president who demanded the resignation of his national security adviser earlier in the week. In naming a new labor nominee right away, Trump and his team hoped to put the sting of Puzder’s failure behind them and regain momentum with many of the president’s nominations still at stake.
Acosta was not on hand for the announcement in the East Room of the White House, and the president dispensed with the nomination in just a few sentences at a rambling news conference. “I think he’s going to be a tremendous secretary of labor,” Trump said.
The U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce hailed the choice.
“We are thrilled to work with Acosta on a host of economic and labor issues which directly affect our members and the Hispanic community as a whole,” said Javier Palomarez, the chamber’s president.