Well, that didn’t take long.
Less than 48 hours after President Donald Trump’s nominee for labor secretary, Andy Puzder, withdrew from consideration, we now know the identity of his replacement candidate. This pick just might give Senate Democrats even more heartburn than the former fast food CEO did.
If confirmed—and that’s highly likely given his credentials—Florida International University College of Law Dean Alexander Acosta will become the first Hispanic named to a top-level position in the Trump Administration. Here are the highlights of his resume:
- bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard College, law degree from Harvard Law School;
- clerked for Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito when he was a judge on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals;
- specialized in employment and labor issues for the Washington, D.C., firm Kirkland & Ellis;
- taught employment law, disability-based discrimination law and civil rights law at the George Mason University School of Law;
- senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center;
- former chairman of U.S. Century Bank, the largest domestically-owned Hispanic community bank in Florida;
- served on the National Labor Relations Board, which requires Senate confirmation;
- first Hispanic assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, which requires Senate confirmation; and
- served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, which requires Senate confirmation.
As you can see, Acosta has a very impressive record and has already been approved by the Senate three times to serve in government. Democrats will have to tie themselves up in knots to find a way to shoot down his nomination—which will be yet another signal that their real motivation is merely to stall out the new administration for as long as possible. {eoa}
