He’s not an official nominee yet, but if President Obama does name Thomas Perez for Labor Secretary, the Republicans aren’t likely to sail through a confirmation.
Mr. Perez has stood by some of the administration’s toughest policies that seem to favor unions at the expense of businesses, The Hill reports. Prior to serving as assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division within the Justice Department, Mr. Perez worked as the secretary of Maryland’s Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation — where he fought businesses who opposed higher minimum wage mandates. He also supported a “living wage” regulation, and fought hard against banks and entities involved in foreclosure schemes.
An investigation of Mr. Perez’s past by Matt Vadum for the American Thinker revealed an even darker past. Mr. Perez “led the Obama administration’s assault on voter ID laws last year,” Mr. Vadum wrote. “As a member of the Montgomery County, Md., Council in 2003, he also tried to force governments to accept fraud-prone matricula consular ID cards issued by Mexican consular officers. He was a board member of Casa de Maryland, an advocacy group for illegal aliens funded by George Soros and the recently deceased Hugo Chavez.”
Mr. Perez also “targeted Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio, for legal harassment because he doesn’t like Arpaio’s tough-on-crime approach, especially with respect to illegal aliens,” Mr. Vadum wrote.
Labor unions fully support his nomination, The Hill reports. They also recognize a fight is likely.
“We certainly hope that his confirmation would be quick, but for some Senate Republicans, they have a tendency to hold up nominations at the Labor Department and the [National Labor Relations Board],” said Tim Schlittner, spokesman at the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW). “There is no guarantee that this will be a swift confirmation.”
SEE ALSO: Some in GOP likely to block Perez; Marylander seen as a Labor Cabinet pick
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.