Alexander Acosta to be new Labor Sec’y – Live Coverage

Alexander Acosta the dean of the FIU Law school is the new nominee for Labor Secretary

President Donald Trump picked Alexander Acosta, a former Justice Department official and current dean of Florida International University College of Law, as his new pick for labor secretary. The announcement came today in a White House press conference with President Donald Trump.

Acosta, has a strong history on working with labor over the years and is a wise choice for the job of secretary. He also has experience in going through the process of being confirmed and he is likely to get support on a bi-partisan.

He becomes the first Hispanic person to join the Trump administration and has been confirmed by the Congress three times. He also served on the National Labor Relation board he is a strong candidate.

The announcement came after myriad scandals scuttled the confirmation of his prior nominee, fast-food CEO Andrew Puzder. Puzder withdrew his nomination on Wednesday after POLITICO published a video in which his former wife leveled abuse allegations against him while appearing on Oprah’s show in disguise in 1990. She later recanted the accusations.

Puzder also faced scrutiny for employing an undocumented worker and failing to pay taxes on her employment until after his nomination.

President Trump had an unexpected press conference on today and it was held in the East Room of the White House.

It was Trump’s first solo news conference since he took office last month. He has held joint press conferences with leaders from Britain, Japan, Canada and Israel.

President Trump did take questions from reporters in the White House Press Corps during the press conference. He has been criticized by some for taking questions only from conservative media during his previous joint press conferences.

Trump took some questions about General Michael Flynn and the concerns over his administration’s ties to Russia. Trump  continued to defend the general. President Trump, did some strong attacks on the media and “leakers.”

President Trump made it clear that he remains loyal to Gen. Flynn despite having to dismiss him earlier in the week.

Video from Fox News

Jim Williams is the Washington Bureau Chief, Digital Director as well as the Director of Special Projects for Genesis Communications. He is starting his third year as part of the team. This is Williams 40th year in the media business, and in that time he has served in a number of capacities. He is a seven time Emmy Award winning television producer, director, writer and executive. He has developed four regional sports networks, directed over 2,000 live sporting events including basketball, football, baseball hockey, soccer and even polo to name a few sports. Major events include three Olympic Games, two World Cups, two World Series, six NBA Playoffs, four Stanley Cup Playoffs, four NCAA Men’s National Basketball Championship Tournaments (March Madness), two Super Bowl and over a dozen college bowl games. On the entertainment side Williams was involved s and directed over 500 concerts for Showtime, Pay Per View and MTV Networks.