--- ---  # President Trump Named Alexander Acosta as New Labor Secretary Nominee by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Updated: Dec 13, 2023 11:50 AM UTCPublished: Feb 16, 2017 5:08 PM UTC  Alexander Acosta smiles as he listens to a question from the media in Miami on Jan. 9, 2006. Alexander Acosta smiles as he listens to a question from the media in Miami on Jan. 9, 2006.Wilfredo Lee—AP by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Updated: Dec 13, 2023 11:50 AM UTCPublished: Feb 16, 2017 5:08 PM UTC President Trump named Alexander Acosta as his new nominee to be Secretary of Labor Thursday, one day after the [withdrawal of his first pick](http://time.com/4672325/andy-puzder-labor-withdraw-donald-trump/), Andrew Puzder. Acosta, who served as assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division under President George W. Bush, most recently served as dean of Florida International University College of Law. If confirmed, he would be the first Hispanic in Trump’s Cabinet. “He’s going to be a tremendous Secretary of Labor,” Trump told reporters in the East Room of the White House, noting that Acosta had been confirmed by the Senate for three previous jobs. Puzder was forced to withdraw his nomination after some Senate Republicans balked at accusations of abuse [directed at him by his ex-wife](http://time.com/donald-trump-drain-swamp/). His outspoken comments against the minimum wage, as well as concerns that he had [hired a household employee](http://time.com/4662507/andrew-puzder-undocumented-worker-housekeeper/) in the U.S. illegally without payment also contributed to his ouster. Donald Trump Names Alexander Acosta as Labor Secretary Pick ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4673413/donald-trump-labor-secretary-alexander-acosta/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4673413/donald-trump-labor-secretary-alexander-acosta/"},"headline":"President Trump Named Alexander Acosta as New Labor Secretary Nominee","datePublished":"2017-02-16T17:08:21.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T11:50:54.000Z","description":"One day after Andrew Puzder withdrew his nomination","url":"https://time.com/4673413/donald-trump-labor-secretary-alexander-acosta/","keywords":["Donald Trump","Congress","White House","Cabinet","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec136ff62e121e3a/6988baa8cd1bba5fbb70401f/alexander-acosta.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ryan Teague Beckwith","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec136ff62e121e3a/6988baa8cd1bba5fbb70401f/alexander-acosta.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"CASTRO ACOSTA WINSLOW FRAZIER ALVAREZ","caption":"CASTRO ACOSTA WINSLOW FRAZIER ALVAREZ","creditText":"Wilfredo Lee—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4673413/donald-trump-labor-secretary-alexander-acosta/","name":"President Trump Named Alexander Acosta as New Labor Secretary Nominee"}}]}] ```