Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO labor federation, denounced President-elect Trump’s Cabinet choices, saying Thursday that the picks so far are “deeply inconsistent with the pledges he made in the campaign.”
In a statement to reporters, Trumka said the pick of former Goldman Sachs executive Steve Mnuchin to head the Treasury Department would return the country to the “risky, unregulated financial speculation that benefits his Wall Street friends, leaves consumers vulnerable and risks another financial crisis.”
The labor chief was similarly scathing about the pick of Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., to head the Justice Department, saying he has had a “record of crushing civil liberties” throughout his political career. Trumka slammed the choice of charter school advocate Betsy DeVos to head the Education Department, arguing she had “spent her career undermining our public education system.” He called Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., the pick to head the Health and Human Services Department, a man who wants to “undermine essential programs.”
“Donald Trump the candidate claimed he would rein in the power of Wall Street traders, protect Social Security and Medicare and ensure all kids have great schools. But his Cabinet choices send a dangerous signal about how President-elect Trump will conduct his presidency,” he said.
Trumka was one of Trump’s most vocal critics during the 2016 election, repeatedly calling his immigration rhetoric “hateful and racist.” Under Trumka’s leadership, the AFL-CIO endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and spent more than $11 million in “soft money” in the last election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, most of it benefiting Democrats. Trumka also announced a massive “get out the vote” effort to mobilize support for Clinton and to educate the labor rank-and-file on Trump’s history.
Trump, nevertheless, did quite well among labor members, carrying the heavily unionized states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. Exit polls show that he won 43 percent of union households, 3 points more than 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney. According to the AFL-CIO, Trump won 37 percent of card-carrying union members, 4 points more than Romney’s total.
