Andrew Puzder: 5 things about Trump's labor secretary pick
Update: President-elect Donald J. Trump has officially announced his intent to nominate Andy Puzder, CEO of CKE Restaurants, as Secretary of the Department of Labor.
“Andy Puzder has created and boosted the careers of thousands of Americans, and his extensive record fighting for workers makes him the ideal candidate to lead the Department of Labor,” said President-elect Trump in a news release Thursday.. “Andy will fight to make American workers safer and more prosperous by enforcing fair occupational safety standards and ensuring workers receive the benefits they deserve, and he will save small businesses from the crushing burdens of unnecessary regulations that are stunting job growth and suppressing wages.”
Puzder commented.
“I am honored to be nominated by President-elect Trump for Secretary of Labor," Puzder wrote. "I look forward to the opportunity to help President-elect Trump restore America’s global economic leadership. The President-elect believes, as do I, that the right government policies can result in more jobs and better wages for the American worker. I’m proud to be offered the chance to serve in his Administration.”
President-elect Donald Trump is expected to nominate Franklin resident Andrew Puzder, CEO of Hardee's and Carl's Jr. restaurants, to his cabinet as labor secretary.
Puzder, whose family trust purchased a home in the county in 2015, also has been responsible for the upcoming relocation of the headquarters of parent company CKE Restaurant Holdings Inc. to Williamson County.
The relocation was announced in April and the consolidation of its headquarters in Carpinteria, Calif., and corporate Hardee's offices in St. Louis, will be a $5 million investment and is expected to bring 100 jobs to Williamson County.
“We look forward to calling the City of Franklin our base of operations as we continue to meaningfully forge ahead with some very exciting new developments in the foreseeable future,” Puzder said when he announced the move.
Trump taps fast food exec Andy Puzder for Labor secretary
Here are five things to know about Puzder:
1. He's a lawyer who graduated from the Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. Puzder was a corporate trial lawyer from 1984 to 1991 before making his name as a corporate turnaround specialist. He helped Carl's Jr. founder Carl Karcher avoid bankruptcy and keep a stake in CKE Restaurant Holdings Inc. in a sale Puzder arranged. Puzder would later turn around the company and make it profitable again after the acquisition of the company that owned Hardee's restaurants put CKE Restaurant Holdings Inc. $700 million in debt.
2. Puzder has been vocal about his opposition to raising the minimum wage, and has spoken out about the country's labor force and the economy. He's often called for regulatory reform. Puzder recently co-authored the book, "Job Creation: How It Really Works and Why Government Doesn’t Understand It."
3. During Trump's presidential campaign, Puzder praised the candidate's tax plan as “pro-growth” and called his populist message “refreshing." Puzder raised money for the Trump Campaign for President, and was a senior economic adviser to the campaign.
4. He was an economic adviser and spokesman for Mitt Romney's campaign for president. He also contributed to Romney's book released in 2011, "Believe in America, Mitt Romney’s Plan for Jobs and Economic Growth." Romney is considered a top contender for secretary of state.
5. CKE defied conventional advertising and marketing tactics recently when the company decided to focus on larger burgers and what some saw as controversial ads for Carl's Jr. featuring scantily-clad women. "I like our ads. I like beautiful women eating burgers in bikinis. I think it's very American," Puzder said in a 2015 interview with Entrepreneur magazine.
Reporter Jordan Buie can be reached by email at jbuie@tennessean.com or on Twitter @jordanbuie