The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Wednesday advanced John Ring, President Trump’s pick to fill the remaining seat on the National Labor Relations Board, the federal government’s top labor law enforcement agency.
Ring’s nomination was approved on a strict 12-11 party-line vote. A full Senate confirmation of Ring would give the five-member board a Republican majority until 2020.
“Mr. Ring has varied experiences that will be a strength as a member of the nation’s labor board — he has worked for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters while attending college and law school, and has been a management lawyer with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius since 1988. I urge the Senate to swiftly to confirm Mr. Ring,” Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander said.
Ring would replace former board member Philip Miscimarra, who stepped down in December. Democrats have been critical of Ring as too friendly to business. The committee vote had been scheduled and postponed three times in the last week, reflecting the narrowness of the margin. Senate Republicans had to wait until enough committee members would be present to ensure Ring would pass.
The board achieved a reputation for pro-union activism during the Obama administration, which the Trump White House and congressional Republicans have been eager to reverse. A 2015 post on the Morgan Lewis website touted Ring as being able to help clients with an “activist” NLRB.
Last year, the Senate confirmed three other Trump picks to the board: former GOP House staffer Marvin Kaplan to an open seat, business lawyer Bill Emanuel to another open seat, and private sector lawyer Peter Robb as the board’s general counsel. Trump appointed Kaplan chairman after Miscimarra stepped down.
Emanuel has been under fire from Democrats who say he should have recused himself from a December case called Hy-Brand that reversed a major Obama-era ruling on the “joint employer” standard, which vastly expanded corporate legal liability. Late last month, the board vacated that decision, having determined that Emanuel had a conflict of interest.
