Trump just announced Alexander Acosta as his nominee for Labor Secretary, replacing Andrew Puzder who withdrew his nomination yesterday:
JUST IN: President Trump: "The nominee for Secretary of the Department of Labor will be Mr. Alex Acosta." https://t.co/DOTJBqiaxF pic.twitter.com/rjA3cy03Cc
— ABC News (@ABC) February 16, 2017
Acosta even has Ana Navarro’s blessing, and you know how she feels about Trump:
Alex Acosta, Cuban-American from Miami, is good pick. Clean as a whistle. Smart. Loyal. Brings unique perspective of an immigrant community. https://t.co/7dKj7BSYrD
— Ana Navarro (@ananavarro) February 16, 2017
Alex Acosta is a great pick for Labor. He's not a billionaire. Humble. Hard-working lawyer and Law School dean w/a squeaky clean reputation.
— Ana Navarro (@ananavarro) February 16, 2017
I refused to accept Trump couldnt find 1 qualified Hispanic for Cabinet. Glad to hear appointing Acosta. Qualified in intellect & character.
— Ana Navarro (@ananavarro) February 16, 2017
Alex Acosta was Dean at @FIU, probably 1 of the schools w/highest number of students covered by DACA. I hope he speaks for them in Cabinet.
— Ana Navarro (@ananavarro) February 16, 2017
Both with Flynn and Puzder, seems their replacements are far less controversial and more qualified for jobs. Better for Trump & the country.
— Ana Navarro (@ananavarro) February 16, 2017
And Justice Willett’s blessing as well!
https://twitter.com/JusticeWillett/status/832286035157647361
Here’s a bit more from Wikipedia on Acosta:
Acosta is a native of Miami, Florida. He attended the Gulliver Schools in Miami. He received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard College and his law degree from Harvard Law School.
Following law school, Acosta served as a law clerk to Samuel Alito, then a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, from 1994 to 1995. Acosta then worked at the Washington, D.C. office of the law firm Kirkland & Ellis, where he specialized in employment and labor issues. While in Washington, Acosta taught classes on employment law, disability-based discrimination law, and civil rights law at the George Mason University School of Law.
From 1998-2000 Acosta was a senior fellow at the socially conservative Ethics and Public Policy Center.
He has served in three presidentially-appointed, senate-confirmed positions. He was a member of the National Labor Relations Board, where he participated in or authored more than 125 opinions. Following the NLRB, he was Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice on August 22, 2003; becoming the first Hispanic to hold the rank of Assistant Attorney General. He also served as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division. More recently, Acosta served as the U.S. Attorney for Southern District of Florida, and was the longest serving U.S. Attorney in the District since the 1970s.
Here’s a short video of him in 2009 representing FIU college:
Acosta sounds immensely qualified. But don’t doubt for a second that Democrats won’t find something to harp about, especially with regard to him being a “senior fellow at the socially conservative Ethics and Public Policy Center”.
As an aside, is it just me or does Acosta bear a striking resemblance to Ted Cruz?