President Trump’s administration has taken another blow—Secretary of Labor nominee Andrew Puzder disclosed on Tuesday that he had employed an undocumented immigrant as a housekeeper, according to The New York Times. But while this might seem bad, it probably isn’t enough to tank Puzder’s nomination.
Claiming he was unaware of the woman’s status, Puzder said he attempted to amend the situation after finding out by immediately ending her employment and paying all due back taxes to the state of California and to the IRS. Historically, using undocumented immigrants for labor has immediately stopped the confirmation process for any nominee. However, according to the Huffington Post, Trump transition officials told the nominee the old standards “no longer applied” (as evidenced by Trump’s very election).
This is not the only obstacle standing in his way of his confirmation. Puzder is currently the chief executive of CKE restaurants, the parent company of Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s, and has been since 2000. Restaurants he owned were found guilty of labor violations, leading many to wonder how he can serve the Department of Labor when he’s disregarded it in the past. Many Senate Democrats also take issue with his stance on not raising minimum wage. JoAnn Wise, a woman who worked as a cashier at Hardee’s, wrote an opinion piece for The Washington Post on Tuesday describing her low wages at Hardee’s meant she was left with no savings and no ability to retire even after 21 years of full-time work.
Puzder’s personal life is also filled with eyebrow-raising allegations. His ex wife, Lisa Henning, accused him of domestic abuse during their 1987 divorce proceedings. She then repeated these claims on an episode of Oprah in disguise. But when these claims came out because of his nomination, she contacted The Cut to say, “Andy is one of the finest men I have ever known… Andy is a wonderful father, a great person and was a good husband.”
Puzder has not yet had a hearing, as he first needs to remove himself from his business interests.