Trump Makes Two Solid Cabinet Picks: New at Reason

Judging from the reaction to some of Donald Trump’s Cabinet choices, there are two types of businesspeople Democrats distrust: those who behave as you would expect businesspeople to behave and those who don’t. Neither Andrew Puzder nor Rex Tillerson has found many champions in the opposition party.

Puzder, chosen to head the Department of Labor, is head of CKE Restaurants, parent company of the Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. fast-food chains. In that job, he has learned a lot about hiring and managing employees—the “labor” that is the focus of the department’s activities.

For some reason, it comes as a shock to many people that Trump would nominate someone who opposes big increases in the minimum wage. “Instead of creating a living wage,” Puzder wrote last year, “the fight for dramatic minimum-wage increases could leave millions with no wage at all.” Steve Chapman analyzes Puzder’s wisdom, along with that of secretary of state nominee Tillerson.

View this article.