President Donald Trump’s pick for labor secretary, fast food mogul Andy Puzder, reportedly withdrew his nomination Wednesday.
The CEO of CKE Restaurants received a great amount of scrutiny on various topics, including allegations of domestic abuse against his ex-wife, his admission that he once hired an undocumented worker for his house, his defense of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s commercials with depictions of objectified women in bikinis, his opposition to business regulations, and his long and complicated attempts to divest his assets from his company for his ethics paperwork.
Puzder also opposed wages in minimum wage, which was a rallying point for many who protested his nomination. One of the anti-Puzder activists’ main criticisms: He wasn’t willing to raise the wages of employees’ on his restaurants’ floors, but he himself made millions of dollars.
Local fast food workers take part in nationwide protests to denounce President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Andy Puzder, a restaurant mogul who owns Carl’s Jr. and other chains, as U.S. Secretary of Labor outside a Carl’s Jr. restaurant in Los Angeles, Jan. 12, 2017. Photo: REUTERS/Mike Blake
It’s not entirely clear how much Puzder is worth. There are reports of him making anywhere from $4 million to $11 million per year. But here’s what we know:
In 2009, Puzder earned $7.3 million. In 2010, his compensation was $10.1 million, and the next year, he earned $4.5 million.
CKE is now a private company, but Puzder owned about two million shares worth $25.6 million in 2010, when the company was last public. CKE offered perks to executives while Puzder was in charge — perks worth a total of $241,000 for expenses like club memberships and personal use of the company aircraft, according to a 2013 analysis from the Pacific Coast Business Times.
Puzder was one of many millionaires nominated for Trump’s cabinet, but he’s the first to pull back his nomination.
Puzder had been speaking to the White House about whether or not he should withdraw, CNN reported Wednesday. He needed 50 votes from the Senate to win the confirmation, and with four of the 52 Republicans planning to vote no — and eight more Republicans on the fence — he decided to step out.
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