Hearing for Trump’s Labor nominee rescheduled

by Rebecca Savransky - 03/12/17 1:55 PM ET

The confirmation hearing for President Trump’s pick to head the Labor Department has been rescheduled for later this month.

A spokesman for Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP), announced Sunday that the Wednesday hearing for Alexander Acosta has been delayed.

“Because Chairman Alexander will be joining President Trump in Nashville on Wednesday, Alexander Acosta’s confirmation hearing will be rescheduled,” the spokesman said. “… The Executive Session for committee members to vote on Mr. Acosta’s nomination will be scheduled for the following week.”

{mosads}Acosta will appear before the committee at 9 a.m. on March 22. The committee was originally scheduled to hold the confirmation hearing on March 15.

Trump is scheduled to hold a campaign-style rally in Nashville that day as Republicans ratchet up efforts to pitch their healthcare plan.

Trump chose Acosta, a former member of the National Labor Relations Board, for Labor secretary after Andy Puzder withdrew his nomination one day before his scheduled confirmation hearing.

Acosta was the first Hispanic U.S. assistant attorney general and longest-serving U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida. Former President George W. Bush appointed him to serve as assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice in 2003.

Tags Lamar Alexander