Restaurant executive Puzder withdraws as nominee for labor secretary
WASHINGTON — Andrew Puzder, President Trump’s choice to serve as the next labor secretary, has withdrawn his nomination amidst growing resistance from Republicans and Democrats in the Senate.
“After careful consideration and discussions with my family, I am withdrawing my nomination for Secretary of Labor,” Pudzer said in a statement. “I am honored to have been considered by President Donald Trump to lead the Department of Labor and put America’s workers and businesses back on a path to sustainable prosperity.”
He continued: “I want thank President Trump for his nomination. I also thank my family and my many supporters — employees, businesses, friends and people who have voiced their praise and hopeful optimism for the policies and new thinking I would have brought to America as Secretary of Labor. While I won’t be serving in the administration, I fully support the President and his highly qualified team.”
In the hours leading up to Puzder’s withdrawal, 12 Republican senators “at a minimum” were withholding support, according to one GOP senator, who asked for anonymity to avoid political retribution.
Pudzer, a restaurant executive and Trump campaign supporter, had attracted widespread criticism regarding his business record and personal background. Additionally, a prominent conservative publication announced its opposition to the pick on Wednesday, saying that Puzder’s support for more legal immigration is at odds with Trump’s position.
Some Republican senators initially said they were withholding support until they could see how the political novice fared at his confirmation hearing, which was scheduled for Thursday morning. But as Wednesday progressed, it became clear to Republican Senate leaders that they did not have the votes to confirm him.
Puzder, the chief executive of CKE Restaurants, was set to appear before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee for a long-delayed hearing amid a protracted review of his vast personal wealth, details of a rancorous divorce more than 25 years ago and revelations that his family once employed an undocumented immigrant as a housekeeper.
Puzder revealed to a Senate committee this month that he was unaware of the woman’s immigration status when he hired her. She was terminated and Puzder later paid federal and state back taxes.
Democrats on the panel who opposed Puzder were vowing to show racy images of bikini-clad models eating hamburgers that appeared in television commercials run by his restaurant chains.
Before the hearing, Republicans were showing a notable level of skepticism about one of Trump’s last Cabinet nominees — and certainly the most imperiled — to proceed through Senate confirmation.
“He’s got an awful lot of people who speak highly of him, but all these nominees have a process that they have to go through where they’ve got to respond to the questions people have on their backgrounds and their records, and I want to have that opportunity,” said Sen. John Thune, S.D., the third-ranking Senate Republican, among those withholding support.
Although Republicans had questions about Puzder’s personal employment practices, Democrats had planned to question him about allegations — long since recanted — that he assaulted his ex-wife, his past criticism of minimum-wage laws and his personnel practices, as well as advertising campaigns at his restaurant chains that women’s groups consider sexist.
As a restaurant executive, Puzder has spent much of his career speaking out against wage and labor regulations. The former commercial trial lawyer has been a staunch opponent of rules finalized by the Labor Department last year — and since put on hold — that would have expanded the number of people eligible for overtime pay. He also has been critical of substantially increasing the minimum wage, arguing that it could push companies to cut jobs and encourage businesses to invest more money in automation.
In 2016, Puzder was an avid Trump supporter. In addition to serving as an economic adviser to his campaign, he and his wife, Deanna Puzder, contributed a total of $332,000 to Trump’s bid, joint fundraising committees and to the Republican National Committee, according to the Federal Election Commission.
Senators often do not weigh in on a nominee publicly until after a confirmation hearing, but Republicans have been mostly in lock-step to support Trump’s top Cabinet nominees. Only one other pick — Rex Tillerson to serve as secretary of state — drew as much public wavering among Republicans before his hearing, when five GOP senators expressed doubts. Ultimately, all of them voted for Tillerson.
In addition to Thune, Republican Sens. Rob Portman, Ohio, Thom Tillis, N.C., Susan Collins, Maine, Johnny Isakson, Ga., Lisa Murkowski, Alaska, and Tim Scott, S.C., said this week that they were on the fence regarding Puzder. Collins, Isakson, Murkowski and Scott sit on the HELP Committee while the others do not — signaling that the concerns about Puzder are widespread.