Cabinet update: EPA head confirmed, DOL nominee withdraws

By |  February 21, 2017

Scott Pruitt

President Donald Trump’s Cabinet is nearing completion, as Scott Pruitt, Oklahoma’s attorney general, was confirmed as U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator.

Pruitt, who has long been an opponent of the EPA, was confirmed by a 52-to-46 Senate vote.

The Trump administration continues to be without a head at the U.S. Department of Labor, though. Andy Puzder, the chief executive of CKE Restaurants who was nominated for labor secretary in December, withdrew his nomination amid a couple of controversies. One centered on Puzder’s employment of an undocumented immigrant while the second involved accusations of spousal abuse.

In Puzder’s place, Trump nominated Alexander Acosta, the dean of Florida International University’s law school, for the labor secretary position. According to The New York Times, Acosta was a member of the National Labor Relations Board under President George W. Bush from 2002 to 2003. Later, Acosta served as assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.

If confirmed, Acosta would be the first Hispanic member of Trump’s Cabinet.

Kevin Yanik

About the Author:

Kevin Yanik is editor-in-chief of Pit & Quarry. He can be reached at 216-706-3724 or kyanik@northcoastmedia.net.

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