President Donald Trump’s administration took another hard hit this week, as his labor secretary nominee withdrew.
Nominee Andrew Puzder faced opposition from both parties regarding his business record and character. A major concern was the documentation of Puzder’s 1988 divorce. According to the records, his now ex-wife accused him of abusing her and even discussed it on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
Another major issue was Puzder’s business proceedings. He is the chief executive of CKE Restaurants, which includes Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. Along with creating racy and controversial and his opposition to raising the minimum wage, many liberal groups accused him of mistreating employees and supporting workplace automation, which would hinder job growth. Furthermore, his business ties and investments also delayed his confirmation hearings, as he repeatedly failed to extricate himself.
Democratic leader Sen. Chuck Schumer said that Puzder’s business focus is suppressing workers. He explained that President Trump should nominate someone who supports workers’ rights.
“Puzder should never have even been nominated to lead the Labor Department, and Senate Republicans clearly recognized this, too,” he said. “The fact that someone so anti-labor was even nominated shows how far President Trump is from where he campaigned.”
Many Republicans also opposed Puzder, including Senators John Thune (South Dakota), Rob Portman (Ohio), Thom Tillis (North Carolina), Susan Collins (Maine), Johnny Isakson (Georgia), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Tim Scott (South Carolina). However, some Republicans still supported Puzder’s nomination.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) said that Puzder was an “outstanding” nominee to lead the labor department.
“We’re always looking for nominees who have never made a mistake,” he said. “Frequently, it’s impossible to find nominees who have never made a mistake.”
The former CEO of CKE Restaurants named Puzder as an executive in 1997 after Puzder helped the CEO avoid bankruptcy. When Hardee’s restaurants were greatly underperforming, the company faced $700 million in debt. However, Puzder turned the company around quickly, and shortly after, the executive board named him CEO.
Also supporting his nomination was the National Restaurant Association. Cicely Simpson, executive vice president, said that Puzder’s “extremely unfortunate” withdrawal removed a qualified and dedicated candidate from the opportunity.
“We hope that President Trump’s next labor secretary nominee, like Andy, has experience creating jobs and a deep understanding of how to get business and government to work together to grow the economy,” she said.
