Huffington Post • Dave Jamieson
President Donald Trump’s pick to be the next labor secretary, Andrew Puzder, has “serious conflicts of interest” due to his work for an industry lobby that sued to stop overtime reforms, Senate Democrats said Thursday.
In a letter sent to the nominee and obtained by The Huffington Post, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) told Puzder that the committee overseeing his nomination still had not received his ethics paperwork, and that she expected a “detailed account” of what steps he’d take to avoid conflicts related to overtime regulation.
“If you are confirmed,” wrote Murray, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, “your participation in any decisions, meetings, or conversations regarding the overtime litigation may put you in violation of legal ethics restrictions and prohibitions against conflicts of interest, raising questions about your ability to manage a key part of the responsibilities of the Secretary of Labor.”