Allies of Andrew Puzder, President-elect Trump’s nominee to be secretary of labor, say there is no truth to the rumors that the nominee is having second thoughts about joining the Cabinet.
They argue that the rumors are little more than a whispering campaign by Puzder’s critics in organized labor intended to give the bogus impression that his nomination is in trouble.
“Totally false. He is not backing out. This is on the record,” said Diana-Furchtgott-Roth, a Manhattan Institute scholar and member of Trump’s Labor Department transition team.
Others involved in the transition who requested anonymity described the rumors as “complete crap” and characterized Puzder as “locked and ready to go.”
“I’ve heard nothing indicating he’s having second thoughts. It’s hard to imagine someone as smart as Puzder not knowing what he was getting into when he agreed to join the Donald Trump administration,” said one source.
Puzder, the chief executive officer of CKE Restaurants, which owns the Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr., franchises, has been in the crosshair of organized labor since he was nominated by Trump on Dec. 8. Puzder is a staunch conservative and free-market advocate. He has been a major critic of the Obama administration’s push to extend the reach of federal labor law regulations.
Toppling his nomination has been a major goal of organized labor. A labor-allied group, the Restaurant Opportunities Center United, released a worker survey earlier this month claiming that many Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr., employees said they were subjected to harsh working conditions. Outsider pollsters consulted by the Washington Examiner said the survey’s methodology wasn’t representative.
The first public indication that the nomination might be troubled came from a CNN report last week which quoted an unnamed “Republican source plugged into the transition effort” as saying that Puzder “may be bailing…. He is not into the pounding he is taking, and the paperwork.” The CNN report was picked up and echoed by several others watching the Puzder nomination.
Puzder himself disputed the report, tweeting, “I am looking forward to my hearing.”
The CNN report noted that Puzder’s hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, originally set for Jan. 17 was postponed and is now tentatively set for February. A firm date has not been set.
Puzder’s critics said at the time that the delay was proof their efforts were working. “The delay is good news because it means they are getting scared,” said Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., leader of the House Progressive Caucus, on Jan. 10.
However, a Senate Republican source who requested anonymity said Puzder’s hearing was delayed at the request GOP leadership, not the nominee. The leadership asked for the committee’s hearing on Betsy DeVos, Trump’s nominee to head the Education Department and another controversial pick, to be moved back a week to Jan. 17. Puzder’s hearing, which had been set for the same day, had to be bumped to accommodate that, the source said.
