Eugene Scalia
Last week, Alex Acosta stepped down from his role as Labor Secretary following a firestorm of controversy over the sweetheart deal he gave convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. While the deal was public knowledge when Acosta was confirmed to the cabinet position, following Epstein’s July 6th arrest on child sex trafficking charges, new details of were hashed out and Acosta didn’t seem capable of making the case he should keep his job.
With Acosta out, many Republicans believed Patrick Pizzella, Acosta’s deputy, would get the nod, that is, if Donald Trump even got around to making a new nomination. But last night, the president announced over Twitter, natch, a Biglaw partner with a familiar last name would be his nomination for the new Labor Secretary.
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I am pleased to announce that it is my intention to nominate Gene Scalia as the new Secretary of Labor. Gene has led a life of great success in the legal and labor field and is highly respected not only as a lawyer, but as a lawyer with great experience….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 19, 2019
….working with labor and everyone else. He will be a great member of an Administration that has done more in the first 2 ½ years than perhaps any Administration in history!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 19, 2019
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That’s right, the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s son is getting the nomination.
And, as Politico, the outlet that first called the nomination, notes, having the name “Scalia” bandied about over the course of the nomination is a political boon, one that serves to remind Trump’s base just who got to fill Justice Scalia’s seat on the Court:
A Scalia nomination could become a base-pleaser for Trump, who as a presidential candidate built a relationship with right-leaning evangelical voters after promising to select a reliably conservative judge to replace the late justice on the court.
Trump grew close to the Scalia family during the confirmation of Justice Neil Gorsuch, who replaced the late conservative justice on the high court. Scalia’s wife, Maureen, attended a Rose Garden ceremony last July where Trump announced Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the court.
Scalia received his J.D. from the University of Chicago and is currently a partner at Gibson Dunn, but does have notable government experience on his résumé. He served as the Solicitor of the U.S. Department of Labor and as a Special Assistant to the Attorney General. Scalia has a pretty successful track record in challenging government regulations in court, including a Maryland rule that would have required Wal-Mart to pay more for employee healthcare and an Obama-era fiduciary rule for retirement account advisors.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).