Eugene Scalia, son of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, faced lawmakers in his Senate confirmation hearing Thursday, and promised neutrality and impartiality if he were to become the next labor secretary.
“I will seek to defend them, to vindicate their rights but that doesn’t mean that I necessarily think what they did is proper,” Scalia, once a lawyer for the department under George W. Bush, said of his recent private-sector clients.
Ultimately in charge of the nation’s 401k regulation, 5500 filings, and possibly a revamped fiduciary rule if confirmed, he was called “Secretary of Corporate Interests” by ranking Democrat Senator Patty Murray, D-Washington.
“Instead of nominating a Secretary of Labor, President Trump has nominated a Secretary of Corporate Interests,” she said. “If there’s one consistent pattern in Mr. Scalia’s long career—it’s hostility to the very workers he would be charged with protecting, and the very laws he would be charged with enforcing if he were confirmed.”
She expressed frustration with what she described as a “rushed process.”
“I have asked repeatedly to delay this confirmation hearing, because I believe every nominee’s background should be reviewed carefully and thoroughly—especially for a role this important …Workers and families across the country are counting on us to take our vetting responsibility seriously—especially since President Trump clearly won’t.”
She also took time to criticize the Trump Administration of labor issues overall.
“From rolling back a rule ensuring workers receive overtime pay, to blocking Democrats’ efforts to raise the minimum wage and ensure equal pay, to seizing every opportunity to undermine workers’ rights to organize and join a union to advocate for higher pay, better benefits, a safer workplace, and a secure retirement—the Trump Administration has consistently sided with corporations over workers,” Murray charged.
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
