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Donald Trump names Alexander Acosta as nominee for US labour secretary
Alexander Acosta was assistant attorney general for the civil rights division under President George W Bush.
US president Donald Trump on Thursday named Alexan
der Acosta his nominee for the position of labour secretary after his previous pick Andrew Puzder bowed out in the face of opposition from some Republican senators that had endangered his confirmation.
Acosta, a lawyer from Florida, is the first Latino in Trump’s cabinet. He was assistant attorney general for the civil rights division under President George W Bush.
The president was also reported to be planning to ask a billionaire friend from New York to conduct a broad review of US intelligence that has seemed to be at odds with him. But that appointment was not expected immediately.
The president is also said to have offered the position of National Security Adviser, which fell vacant on Michael Flynn’s ouster, to Vice-Admiral Robert Harward, who according to some reports, has asked for time to consider.
Puzder, a food-chain owner, withdrew his nomination facing opposition from some Republican senators, which seemed to have made his confirmation difficult. The problem: An undocumented immigrant he employed as housekeeper.
The New York Times reported that the president was planning to ask Stephen A Feinberg, co-founder of Cerberus Capital Management, a private investment firm, to conduct the review and stay on for a large role in the intelligence community.
The president has blamed Flynn’s exit on leaks from the intelligence community and gas railed against it in a string of post son Twitter against “illegal classified leaking” and “low-life leakers”.
New York Times reported there was considerable disquiet in the intelligence community over this development; even Trump’s nominee for the position of Director or National Intelligence Dan Coats was upset.
