The Latest: Senate confirms Acosta as Trump's man at labor

The Latest: Senate confirms Acosta as Trump's man at labor


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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on Alex Acosta's confirmation as President Donald Trump's secretary of labor (all times EDT):

6:40 p.m.

The Senate has confirmed law school dean Alex Acosta as President Donald Trump's secretary of labor.

The 60-38 vote Thursday fills out Trump's Cabinet just ahead of the president's 100th day in office. Once sworn in, Acosta will be the nation's 27th secretary of labor, leading an agency that enforces workplace protections for about 10 million employers and 125 million workers.

Acosta wasn't Trump's first choice for the job. That was former fast food CEO Andrew Puzder, who withdrew his name from consideration after becoming a political headache for the new administration. Acosta has been a federal prosecutor, a civil rights chief at the Justice Department and a member of the National Labor Relations Board.

Democrats have complained that Acosta's positions on overtime pay and other issues are unclear.

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2:20 p.m.

The Senate is poised to confirm Alex Acosta as President Donald Trump's secretary of labor.

The vote expected Thursday would make Acosta the only Hispanic in the Cabinet and complete Trump's Cabinet as he approaches the 100-day mark of his presidency.

But the drive to fill the labor position was rocky for a president who had promised to advocate for American workers. Trump nominated Acosta only after his first choice, Andrew Puzder, withdrew from consideration under a cloud of questions and criticism. The fast food CEO acknowledged having hired a housekeeper not authorized to work in the U.S. and belatedly paying the related taxes.

The Senate already has approved Acosta, 48, three times previously, for positions in the Labor and Justice Departments.

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