WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump’s nominee for labor secretary abruptly withdrew his nomination Wednesday after Senate Republicans balked at supporting him, in part over taxes he belatedly paid on a former housekeeper not authorized to work in the United States.
Fast-food executive Andrew Puzder issued a short statement abandoning the effort, saying he was “honored to have been considered by President Donald Trump to lead the Department of Labor.”
White House spokesman Sean Spicer said he had no information on any possible replacement. Puzder’s nomination became part of a streak of contentious confirmation battles and White House actions, including the rollout of Trump’s executive order on refugees being blocked.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, who would have chaired Puzder’s confirmation hearing Thursday, issued a terse statement saying the nominee would have made an “excellent” labor secretary, but “I respect his decision” to quit pursuing the post.
Puzder spokesman George Thompson said his boss was a victim of “an unprecedented smear campaign.”
