Andrew Puzder, a fast food executive in charge of the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s burger chains, has been chosen by Donald Trump to lead the Labor Department. The Thursday announcement riled up some of the president-elect’s more vocal critics with concerns over gender politics, citing Puzder’s previous comments on women.
“We believe in putting hot models in our commercials, because ugly ones don’t sell burgers,” he wrote in a press release for his company, CKE Holdings. “We target hungry guys, and we get young kids that want to be young hungry guys.” The U.S. Department of Labor — which Puzder has been tapped to lead — is in charge fostering, promoting, and developing the welfare of the workers and retirees.
Defending the burger ads even further, he told Entrepreneur earlier this year: “I like our ads. I like beautiful women eating burgers in bikinis. I think it’s very American.”
Here are five other things to know about the American views of incoming labor secretary Andrew Puzder:
He has Trump’s full confidence
His Department of Labor pick is seen by many as a continuation of Trump’s promise to “drain the swamp” and bring in pro-business political outsiders. It flies in the face of conventional wisdom, and threatens to undo much of what Obama has put into place over the course of his two terms in office.
In the case of Puzder, Trump has said that he “has created and boosted the careers of thousands of Americans, and his extensive record fighting for workers makes him the ideal candidate to lead the Department of Labor.”
He has talked about replacing humans with robots
Perhaps he would thrive in Silicon Valley, where “automation” is all the rage right now. Or perhaps the potential for universal basic income would scare him away from the idea.
Either way, Puzder has gone on the record as saying he believes low-skill workers ought to be replaced by robots. “They’re always polite, they always upsell, they never take a vacation, they never show up late, there’s never a slip-and-fall, or an age, sex or race discrimination case,” he recently told Business Insider.
He has put his pro-life views into action
Puzzler, who comes from a large family, worked as an attorney in Missouri many years ago and helped draft a law restricting access to abortion. The law called for banning public employees and taxpayer-funded facilities from performing abortion procedures.
According to the New York Times, in an attempt to overturn the law, the Supreme Court tried heard arguments from both sides — but ultimately upheld it. That marked the first time the high court had ever allowed states the right to implement anti-abortion measures.
He actually supports comprehensive immigration reform
AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
The fast-food CEO does support a pathway to citizenship for undocumented workers with no criminal history, and has voiced opinions opposite of the Trump Administration’s in the recent past.
In an op-ed for the San Diego Union-Tribune, he cited e-verify as a positive development and the DREAM Act, which was composed as one way to get undocumented immigrants conditional permanent residency. “We have every right to protect our borders, and any rational immigration policy has to address effective border control,” he said. “But this shouldn’t blind us to the immigration debate’s economic issues.”
He’s tasked with ensuring American prosperity
Following the announcement of his nomination, Trump said that Puzder is being installed in order to “save small businesses from the crushing burdens of unnecessary regulations that are stunting job growth and suppressing wages.”
In this way, he is expected to work alongside the new leader of Washington’s Small Business Administration, WWE wrestling exec Linda McMahon. It doubles down on Trump’s Contract with the American Voter, in which he promises to combat wage stagnation and “unleash” American economic potential.