Donald Trump’s labor secretary pick pulls out

DECADES old domestic abuse allegations forced President Donald Trump’s nominee for labor secretary to abruptly withdraw his nomination.

PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s nominee for labor secretary abruptly withdrew his nomination after concerns about his business and personal life.

Still reeling from the abrupt resignation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, the White House must now find a replacement for the controversial Labour Department candidate Andrew Puzder.

Mr Puzder, a fast food chain CEO, has faced allegations of domestic abuse and of mistreating his workers, several of whom testified against him last month before the Senate.

Puzder said in a statement provided to The Associated Press that he was “honoured to have been considered by President Donald Trump to lead the Department of Labor and put America’s workers and businesses back on a path to sustainable prosperity.”

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I am withdrawing my nomination for Secretary of Labor. I'm honored to have been considered and am grateful to all who have supported me.

— Andy Puzder (@AndyPuzder) February 15, 2017

Puzder’s ex-wife Lisa Fierstein first made the abuse allegations in 1990 on Oprah Winfrey’s show.

Winfrey provided the tape to the Senate committee before which Puzder was supposed to testify.

His Senate hearing had been delayed five times as he failed to submit the appropriate ethics and financial paperwork.

Divorce records released Tuesday night show that Puzder’s ex-wife accused him of “striking her violently about the face, chest, back, shoulders and neck, without provocation or cause,” according to The New York Times.

She has since retracted the abuse claims.

Andrew Puzder pictured with vice president-elect Mike Pence and Donald Trump. Picture: Drew Angerer/Getty Images/AFP

A spokesman for Puzder told the newspaper that sharing the allegations was “nothing more than a desperate attempt to tarnish Andy Puzder.”

But Senate Republicans also baulked at supporting Pudzer over taxes he belatedly paid on a former illegal housekeeper.

Many Republicans had said they were troubled by his acknowledgment that he had not paid taxes on the housekeeper until after Trump nominated him to the Cabinet post December nine — five years after he had fired the worker.

Puzder’s spokesman said the nominee had paid the taxes as soon as he found out he owed them. But the discrepancy remained a growing political problem for Republicans who have taken a hard line on immigration and taxes.

“I want to hear what he has to say about that,” said Senator Marco Rubio, who added he had moved from endorsing the nominee to joining the ranks of GOP senators who weren’t committing to vote for Puzder before the scheduled hearing.

Protesters with NYC Fight for $15 gather in front of a McDonald’s to rally against fast food executive Andrew Puzder. Picture: Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP

One senator, speaking on condition of anonymity because the conversations were private, said six senators had asked the White House to call off Puzder’s scheduled Thursday hearing because they couldn’t see themselves voting for him.

That would have put the nomination in jeopardy, since Senate Republicans have only a 52-48 majority and Democrats are solidly opposed.

Puzder also faced other Democrat-led attacks over his business record and remarks about women and workers at his company, which owns Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr.

Images of scantily clad women are often used to promote his restaurants.

Democrats argued he would not protect workers, seizing on his opposition to federal minimum wage increases, his remarks about replacing fast food workers with robots and alleged wage violations at some CKE restaurants reported CNBC news.

“There are concerns” over “the immigration issue,” said Senator John Hoeven, who said he shared those concerns and said the Republicans discussed the matter in their caucus meeting on Wednesday.