Labor nominee Eugene Scalia touted for expertise and experience, but faces stiff Dem opposition

President Trump this week formally announced his intention to nominate Eugene Scalia as Labor secretary, with the White House saying he has both legal expertise and hands-on experience at the department.But Democrats are threatening to oppose the nomination, fearing a pick who could become a powerful deregulator. "Eugene Scalia is the president's pick to lead the Department of Labor because of his deep expertise and ability to defend the American worker,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere told Fox News. “He is one of the most respected labor and employment lawyers in the country, and we expect the Senate to act quickly on his nomination.” TRUMP TO NOMINATE GENE SCALIA, SON OF LATE SUPREME COURT JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA, FOR SECRETARY OF LABOR Scalia, a son of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, brings a wealth of experience to the role as a longtime labor, employment and regulatory lawyer, and a former solicitor in the Labor Department during the George W. Bush administration. He is also a senior fellow of the Administrative Conference of the United States -- an agency that recommends to Congress and the executive branch ways to improve agency procedures. Trump described Scalia as having led “a life of great success in the legal and labor field.” But Democrats are pointing to Scalia's record as well, claiming the nominee would turn the department in a pro-corporation direction and aggressively seek to cut regulations protecting workers. “President Trump is missing an opportunity to nominate a fighter for workers, like a union member, to be America’s next Labor Secretary,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in July. “Instead, President Trump has again chosen someone who has proven to put corporate interests over those of worker rights. Workers and union members who believed candidate Trump when he campaigned as pro-worker should feel betrayed.” “Eugene Scalia spent his career putting giant corporations over American workers,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said when his nomination was first announced. “This should concern anyone who believes that the Department of Labor should protect workers’ rights – not corporate interests. The Senate must reject his nomination for Secretary of Labor.” Scalia spent much of the Obama years opposing government regulations on behalf of businesses – putting him in line with the broad philosophical brushstrokes of the Trump administration, which has sought to slash regulation across multiple cabinet departments. During Scalia's confirmation to the Labor Department in 2001, Democrats expressed similar concerns then, focusing on his opposition to a Clinton-era rule to protect workers from repetitive stress injuries – known as the ergonomics rule. The Wall Street Journal reports that as a partner of the corporate law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, he spent much of his time representing the financial-services industry in challenging regulations associated with the Obama-era Dodd-Fran

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