R. Alexander Acosta, President Trump’s nominee to be secretary of labor, will have his first confirmation hearing March 15, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee announced Wednesday. The committee will vote on the nomination following the hearing.
Acosta is expected to have a fairly easy confirmation, having garnered support from several labor unions and Obama administration officials. Senate Democrats and most liberal groups have raised no objections to his nomination.
He is dean of the Florida International University College of Law. He served during President George W. Bush’s administration as a member of National Labor Relations Board from 2002 to 2003 and then as an assistant attorney general for civil rights. He was also a U.S. attorney for the southern district of Florida.
Trump’s previous nominee for the Cabinet position, fast-food businessman Andrew Puzder, withdrew from consideration last month following an avalanche of criticism from Senate Democrats and liberal groups.
