Scalia Nomination
New York TImes/Stephen Voss
We ran the numbers: There are 89 news articles covering this topic. 9% (8) are left leaning, 71% (63) center, 20% (18) right leaning.
On Thursday, July 18th, President Donald Trump announced his plan to nominate labor and employment lawyer Eugene Scalia, the son of former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, as the next secretary of labor for the United States. If confirmed, Scalia will replace the previous secretary of labor, Alexander Acosta. Acosta stepped down last week following public scrutiny and criticism over “his handling of a 2008 secret plea deal with wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Scalia is “a partner at a Washington-area law firm where he specializes in labor and employment matters,” according to the centrist news outlet Reuters. Scalia is well known for “challenging tighter U.S. financial regulations, a rule that forced energy companies to disclose payments made to foreign governments, and an order that required more distance between orcas, or killer whales, and humans after the death of a marine life trainer at SeaWorld Entertainment,” noted a center-left article by CNBC.
In addition, Scalia is known for having helped “Walmart triumph in a prominent fight against a Maryland law that would have required companies with more than 10,000 workers to either spend at least 8 percent of their payroll costs on healthcare or pay into a state Medicaid fund” in 2006, according to the left-leaning New York Times. Scalia has worked for the U.S. Department of Justice and previously served as a .solicitor in President George W. Bush's administration, overseeing litigation and legal advice on rule-makings and administrative law.
On Thursday evening, Donald Trump praised Scalia in a tweet from his personal account, stating that Scalia 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."
His nomination was immediately supported by several government officials and opposed by others. Among those supporting is Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas and among those opposing is Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. According to a left-leaning article by CBS News, Scalia's appointment is likely to continue to be opposed by Democrats and labor unions.