President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated lawyer Eugene Scalia, the son of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, to be his new labor secretary.
Scalia replaces Alex Acosta, who resigned in July amid renewed criticism of how, as federal prosecutor, he handled a 2008 secret plea deal with wealthy financier and admitted sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein, who hung himself in his prison cell earlier this month, was indicted on charges of sexually abusing underage girls before his death.
"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" working "with labor and everyone else," Trump wrote on Twitter in mid-July.
Scalia, who has spent most of his career as a partner in the Washington office of the Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher firm, previously served as solicitor in President George W. Bush's administration, overseeing litigation and legal advice on rulemakings and administrative law.
He also worked for the Justice Department.
He has a career history of challenging labor and financial regulations.