WASHINGTON — Republicans and their allies have launched a fresh campaign to defend fast food executive Andrew Puzder’s nomination to lead the Labor Department.
From a social media push, including the Twitter hashtag (hash)confirmpuzder, to old-fashioned letter-writing to senators, the CEO’s supporters are pushing back against months of Democratic and labor-led efforts to cast him as favoring business interests over those of U.S. workers.
“Some are asking if (at)AndyPuzder is qualified for (hash)LaborSec. The answer: let us count the ways. (hash)ConfirmPuzder,” the National Restaurant Association tweeted Friday. The lawyer and CEO of CKE Restaurants Inc. “knows how to create jobs, because that’s what he has done for the last two decades,” it said.
In the testy aftermath of President Trump’s November election, the fight over his Cabinet nominations has led to marathon Senate sessions and contentious confirmation hearings. In Puzder’s case, the increasingly personal debate highlights the tension between business and labor issues and raises questions about Trump’s stated commitment to American workers who drove his November victory.
Haunting Puzder’s backers ahead of his Feb. 16 hearing is Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ bruising journey to confirmation this week, barely. On the same day Vice President Mike Pence broke the tie vote to confirm DeVos, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pivoted to the most muscular defense of Puzder’s nomination so far, vowing to stick with him despite Puzder’s acknowledgement of having employed a housekeeper not authorized to work in the U.S.
Puzder fired the worker but did not pay related taxes until after Trump nominated him on Dec. 9.
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