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Fast Money & Foreign Objects
Report: Cabinet Nominee in Domestic Abuse Scandal Is No Longer Psyched About Confirmation Process
By Ben Mathis-Lilley
Andrew Puzder with Mike Pence and Donald Trump on Nov. 19 in Bedminster Township, New Jersey.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Last week Politico reported that Carl's Jr. CEO and Labor Secretary nominee Andrew Puzder's ex-wife had appeared on Oprah in the late '80s to (anonymously) discuss her claims that Puzder had physically abused her. Her allegations—since renounced, though in somewhat confusing fashion—are only one of the controversial aspects of Puzder's nomination; he's also been hit for his opposition to raising the minimum wage and expanding overtime eligibility. CNN now reports, in fact, that Puzder is having "second thoughts" about the whole Cabinet thing:
"He may be bailing," said a Republican source plugged into the Trump transition effort. "He is not into the pounding he is taking, and the paperwork."
Hmm—"the pounding he is taking" might not have been the ideal way to describe the experience of someone who's accused of having hit his wife. (For what it's worth, the CNN piece does not specifically mention the abuse claims as one of the reasons for Puzder's second thoughts.) In any case, Puzder tweeted after CNN's report that he is "looking forward" to his confirmation hearing, which is expected to take place in February.
Update, 10:45 a.m.: I should add that Puzder denied his ex-wife's allegations at the time and continues to deny them today.
Report: Cabinet Nominee in Domestic Abuse Scandal Is No Longer Psyched About Confirmation Process
By Ben Mathis-Lilley
Andrew Puzder with Mike Pence and Donald Trump on Nov. 19 in Bedminster Township, New Jersey.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Last week Politico reported that Carl's Jr. CEO and Labor Secretary nominee Andrew Puzder's ex-wife had appeared on Oprah in the late '80s to (anonymously) discuss her claims that Puzder had physically abused her. Her allegations—since renounced, though in somewhat confusing fashion—are only one of the controversial aspects of Puzder's nomination; he's also been hit for his opposition to raising the minimum wage and expanding overtime eligibility. CNN now reports, in fact, that Puzder is having "second thoughts" about the whole Cabinet thing:
"He may be bailing," said a Republican source plugged into the Trump transition effort. "He is not into the pounding he is taking, and the paperwork."
Hmm—"the pounding he is taking" might not have been the ideal way to describe the experience of someone who's accused of having hit his wife. (For what it's worth, the CNN piece does not specifically mention the abuse claims as one of the reasons for Puzder's second thoughts.) In any case, Puzder tweeted after CNN's report that he is "looking forward" to his confirmation hearing, which is expected to take place in February.
Update, 10:45 a.m.: I should add that Puzder denied his ex-wife's allegations at the time and continues to deny them today.
Report: Cabinet Nominee in Domestic Abuse Scandal Is No Longer Psyched About Confirmation Process
