Did Puzder’s hiring of an illegal immigrant kill his nomination? Other nominees have fallen because of it

Well, the attack on Donald Trump’s Labor Secretary nominee didn’t last long. As Christine wrote, Andrew Puzder will likely withdraw his nomination due to lack of support from the Republican Party stemming from spousal abuse allegations that his ex-wife said were false, and the revelation that he had hired an illegal immigrant as a housekeeper 25 years ago. As a result, several Republican senators were undecided about his nomination, expressing hesitance to confirm Puzder. They wanted to see how he would fare in the hearings. Puzder is the CEO of Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr., and Democrats were prepared to apply the fast-food chains’ ads, which are considered sizzling (they’re women in bikinis eating hamburgers), to attack him.

That would be incredibly entertaining, but it’s not going to happen. Ed O’Keefe at The Washington Post reported Sen. John Thune’s (R-SD) hesitation was a huge wake-up call, since he is the senator who is usually tasked with galvanizing support for major Republican initiatives. One reason was that he hired an undocumented immigrant as a housekeeper. It’s not the first time a nomination has been rejected because of a botched hire. President Bill Clinton lost two of his attorney general candidates, Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood, over the same issue — and that was probably his undoing more than anything else.

Puzder, the chief executive of the CKE restaurant chain, is scheduled to appear before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee for a long-delayed hearing involving a prolonged review of his huge personal wealth, details of his acrimonious divorce more than 25 years ago and revelations that his family once employed an illegal immigrant as a housekeeper.

Democrats on the panel who oppose Puzder are vowing to show the racy photos of bikini models eating burgers that have appeared in TV ads run by his restaurant chains. His supporters plan to eat cookies from Hardee’s — one of Puzder’s burger chains — for breakfast while watching the hearing from a makeshift war room.

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In addition to Thune, Republican Sens. Rob Portman (Ohio), Thom Tillis (N.C.), Susan Collins (Maine), Johnny Isakson (Ga.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Tim Scott (S.C.) all said this week that they were undecided about Puzder. Collins, Isakson, Murkowski and Scott all serve on the HELP committee, while the others do not — a sign that concerns about Puzder are widespread.

Thune’s hesitation is notable because his leadership role puts him in charge of building support for crucial GOP issues. But he told reporters Wednesday that he wants to know more about why Puzder hired an undocumented housekeeper and how he paid her. Tillis cited the same concerns.

Puzder revealed to a Senate committee this month that he was unaware of the woman’s immigration status when he hired her. She was fired, and Puzder later paid federal and state back taxes.