Senate

Warren grills Labor pick on Trump policies

by Jordain Carney - 03/21/17 5:00 AM ET

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is questioning President Trump’s pick to lead the Labor Department ahead of a key hearing on the nomination.

Warren is asking Alex Acosta in a 23-page letter to weigh in on myriad policies including if he believes the president should “fully divest” from the Trump Organization and if he would defend an Obama-era overtime rule.

“I am very concerned about the possibility that you will simply fall in line with President Trump’s anti-worker statements and policies, which would be disastrous for the millions of American workers who rely on the Department of Labor’s enforcement of labor law,” Warren wrote.

Acosta is scheduled to testify Wednesday for his confirmation hearing before the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee — of which Warren is a member — but she stressed that the dozens of questions included in her letter are in addition to the ones she plans to ask during the hearing.

{mosads}”I have a number of outstanding questions and concerns I would like you to address before I vote. … To ensure that the Senate and the public can obtain answers about your readiness for this job and determine whether you are indeed qualified for this position, this letter contains my additional questions,” she wrote.

The Massachusetts senator is asking Acosta to respond to her letter by March 27.

Warren wants Acosta to say if he thinks the president should completely cut financial ties with the Trump Organization, as well as if he would enforce health, wage and safety regulations on the business if it breaks federal laws.

Trump officials announced earlier this year that the president had stepped back from his business and left his adult children in charge of the Trump Organization. Democrats argue the move doesn’t go far enough and that Trump must place his assets in a “blind trust” overseen by someone besides a family member.

Warren also wants to know if Acosta would fight attempts to curb voting and labor laws, as well as enforce the department’s current workplace and safety standards.

“Although President Trump’s statements call into question his commitment to lawfully enforcing federal wage and hour laws, millions of working families will be relying on you, if confirmed as Labor Secretary, to do so regardless of the President’s opinions,” she wrote.

Democrats have repeatedly knocked Trump’s nominees, arguing they prioritize special interests and companies over average Americans.

Warren noted that if he’s confirmed, Acosta’s decisions will “profoundly impact” 150 million workers.

“It will be your job to enforce the hard-won labor protections that keep workers out of harm’s way and ensure that they are paid a fair day’s wage for a hard day’s work,” she wrote.

Democrats don’t have the ability to block any of Trump’s Cabinet nominees on their own. Acosta only needs a simple majority to be confirmed, and Republicans have 52 seats in the Senate.

Trump’s initial Labor nominee, fast-food executive Andrew Puzder, withdrew his nomination after Republicans privately raised concerns amid reports that he had hired an undocumented immigrant and initially failed to pay taxes on the household employee.

Tags Elizabeth Warren