Fast food CEO Andrew “women are meat” Puzder has withdrawn his nomination to head the Trump Labor Department
Puzder was under pressure over questions stemming from his byzantine business interests, details about his acrimonious divorce and revelations that he employed an undocumented immigrant as a housekeeper.
After a series of delays, Puzder, the CEO of CKE Restaurants, the billion-dollar parent company of the fast food chains Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s, was due to appear before the Senate health, education, labor and pensions committee on Thursday.
However, in a statement issued on Wednesday afternoon he said he was withdrawing his nomination: “While I won’t be serving in this administration, I fully support the president and his highly qualified team.” [..]
The White House did not immediately return a request for comment.
Signs Puzder’s nomination was imperiled began to show in recent weeks as a number of Republican senators withheld immediate their support for him. on Thursday, the conservative magazine, the National Review, published an editorial titled “No to Puzder”.
The magazine railed against Puzder’s support for “comprehensive immigration reform” and argued that in light of the series of unflattering revelations “his case for his confirmation has diminished to the point of disappearing”.
Among the revelations were resurfaced reports that that Puzder’s ex-wife, Lisa Fierstein, alleged in divorce filings from nearly three decades ago that he had abuse her on multiple occasions in the 1980s. Puzder has denied the allegations.
After their divorce, Fierstein appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show to discuss her experience with domestic violence. Winfrey recently provided senators on the committee the video in which Fierstein, wearing a wig and glasses, discusses the allegations. [..]
Puzder drew the ire of Democrats unions and labor groups for his opposition to raising the minimum wage and his commentary on workers.
Activists protested his nomination at fast food restaurants around the country. In Washington, Democrats invited former employees to testify against their former boss and held press conferences denouncing his positions on labor issues.
Under his leadership, CKE Restaurants ran highly sexualized advertising campaigns that were denounced as sexist and demeaning.
Most of trump’s choices are not just embarrassing but completely unfit.