President Barack Obama’s choice of Thomas E. Perez for secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor is likely to face tough questions during the process of confirmation by the Senate. If confirmed, Perez will replace Hilda L. Solis, who stepped down as labor secretary in January after serving in the post four years.
Foes of Perez, who currently is the assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division in the Justice Department, are citing a report from the administration’s inspector general that points out “deep ideological polarization” that has “fueled disputes and mistrust” in the Justice Department’s Voting Section. The report says problems have existed for years, including in the George W. Bush administration, but Perez’s performance was called into question as soon as reports indicated he would be nominated for labor secretary.
Perez has responded to the inspector general’s report, saying the department has taken steps to stop “troubling incidents,” according to a report on Politico.com. He added that “the Voting Section is a far different place in 2013 than it was in 2005 or 2007.”
The inspector general’s report prompted Senator Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, to issue a statement critical of operations of the Voting Section in which he singled out Perez. “The Attorney General should demand unbiased advice from department attorneys and the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Civil Rights Division, Tom Perez, who appears to also have been woefully unprepared to answer questions in front of the Civil Rights Commission on a subject matter he told the Inspector General he expected questions on,” Grassley said.
The Perez nomination began sparking criticism even before Obama’s pick was official. The headline of a March 12 post on the Washington Post’s Right Turn blog asks, “Is Thomas Perez worse than Chuck Hagel?” referring to the contentious confirmation proceedings for Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel that ended in his confirmation in February.
A key point in the inspector general’s report focuses on Perez’s statement in 2010 that political appointees weren’t part of a 2009 decision to dismiss most of a lawsuit the Justice Department filed concerning allegations of intimidation by members of the New Black Panther Party at a polling place in Philadelphia in November 2008.
Perez history
Perez was sworn in as assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division on October 8, 2009. His biography on the Justice Department website says he previously served as the secretary of Maryland’s Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, which among other things enforces workplace safety, wage and hour, and other worker protection laws. He also served from 2002 to 2006 as a member of the Montgomery County, Maryland, County Council. He is the first Latino to be elected to the council.
Perez also served as deputy assistant attorney general for civil rights under Attorney General Janet Reno in the Clinton administration. Among other responsibilities, he chaired the interagency Worker Exploitation Task Force, which oversaw initiatives designed to protect vulnerable workers. He also served as special counsel to the late Senator Edward Kennedy and was Kennedy’s principal adviser on civil rights, criminal justice, and constitutional issues.