President Trump has given little indication that he intends to formally nominate Deputy Labor Secretary Patrick Pizzella to replace departing Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta. Instead, he appears to be willing to leave Pizzella in place for the foreseeable future as “acting secretary” only, a move that would allow Pizzella to avoid a likely tough nomination fight on Capitol Hill.
“Everybody at the White House is perfectly happy with Pizzella,” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, citing conversations he has had with administration officials. He doesn’t see the White House replacing Pizzella or putting him up for Senate confirmation, arguing that the latter move would just suck up time and energy that the Trump administration would rather use to get others, such as judges, through the nomination process. “There’s no advantage to nominating Pizzella, but there is an opportunity cost to it.”
There’s no real difference in legal authority between an acting secretary and an official one, noted Michael Lotito, co-chairman of the Littler Workplace Policy Institute, a business advocacy group. Pizzella, who already has Senate confirmation to a senior leadership position at the department, would have full authority as an acting secretary.
“In his new acting secretary position, Mr. Pizzella has the opportunity to show the president just how effective he can be,” Lotito told the Washington Examiner. “I am confident Mr. Pizzella will exceed the president’s expectations.”
Trump said Friday that Pizzella would “be acting (secretary) for a period of time,” but didn’t say he would be nominated. Officials at the White House and the Labor Department declined requests for comment.
Quite a few high-ranking Trump administration officials serve only in an “acting” capacity, including Defense Secretary Richard Spencer, Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Matthew Albence, and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Pete Gaynor, among others.
Acosta resigned Friday following criticism of his 2008 prosecution as U.S. attorney for Miami of alleged Florida sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The prosecution resulted in a deal in which Epstein pleaded guilty to two counts of prostitution and served 13 months in county jail. Critics argue the deal was far too generous, given Epstein’s misdeeds. Acosta initially defended his actions but said Friday he had become too much of a dictation for the administration and announced his intentions to resign.
That put Pizzella, the number two official at the department, in charge. Acosta will officially step down next week, at which point Pizzella will take over as the department’s top official. Technically, he will be a temporary replacement, but by law he has the authority of a regular secretary and serves at the president’s pleasure.
The Senate confirmed Pizzella last year to serve as deputy secretary on a narrow 50-48 party-line vote. Few on Capitol Hill and among the business community see any reason to think another confirmation vote would be any easier for him this time.
Democratic critics, such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, last year pointed to Pizzella’s time as a private sector lobbyist on behalf of the North Mariana Islands in the 2000s as a reason to reject him. The islands had sought to retain their status as an income tax-free place where items could still be labeled as “Made in the USA.” Critics pointed to abusive conditions many workers there faced as evidence of Pizzella’s unfitness.
Lotito said Pizzella is highly regarded in the business community. “As Deputy Labor Secretary, his work ethic, abilities, and skills are widely known.”
Acosta had a more moderate reputation among business and labor unions. His departure, while applauded by many Democratic lawmakers, has had a notably muted response from labor unions, most of whom aren’t shy about criticizing the Trump administration. As of Monday, the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor federation, had not commented on Acosta’s departure. It did not respond to a request for comment from Washington Examiner.
