Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, met Monday with President-elect Trump’s pick to head the Labor Department, Andy Puzder, and praised the nominee’s anti-regulatory agenda.
“Andy Puzder and I had an excellent meeting this afternoon. I am impressed with his understanding of how excessive regulation can destroy jobs and make it harder for family incomes to rise. As an experienced and respected Tennessee business leader, Mr. Puzder will be a good partner in creating an environment to help grow jobs for American workers. The Senate labor committee will promptly consider his nomination in the next Congress,” Alexander said, adding that the first hearing will be in January.
The announcement indicates that the Republicans will try to quickly get Puzder confirmed once the next Congress convenes. Puzder, president of CKE Restaurants, which owns the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s franchises, has been attacked by the heads of organized labor as too pro-business.
Puzder was a major critic of the Obama administration’s regulatory push, arguing it stymied economic growth by going after job creators. He has opposed higher minimum wage laws, the administration’s efforts to make franchise companies legally responsible for their franchisees, and the president’s signature domestic achievement, Obamacare.
