WASHINGTON, DC – President Donald Trump on Friday nominated Eugene Scalia – a former Labor Department senior official and son of the iconic late Justice Antonin Scalia – to be the next secretary of labor, following the resignation of Alex Acosta.
The president moved quickly after Acosta – standing next to the president on the White House South Lawn – announced on July 12 he would step down on June 19 as the head of the U.S. Department of Labor.
Conservatives were quick to put forward names. Deputy Labor Secretary Pat Pizzella was a favorite among many, who as deputy is currently serving as the acting secretary of labor until the Senate confirms a new head for the Cabinet-level department.
Scalia is another favorite among conservatives, who are confident the son of the originalist legal giant will advance the president’s America First agenda for the nation’s workers.
During the George W. Bush administration, Scalia served as solicitor of the Department of Labor. That is a powerful and demanding position, one of the highest-ranking legal positions in an administration, and Scalia received high reviews from experts on how he managed the department’s legal matters.
Scalia graduated in 1990 from the elite University of Chicago law school, where he was editor-in-chief of the law review. He served as a special assistant to Attorney General Bill Barr during Barr’s first stint as head of the Justice Department under Bush 41. He is a longtime partner at the global powerhouse law firm, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher.
The Senate must now confirm Scalia. No schedule has yet been announced as to when a final Senate vote should be expected.
Ken Klukowski is senior legal analyst for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @kenklukowski