WASHINGTON _ Will the fifth time be the charm for Andy Puzder, President Donald Trump's nominee for Labor secretary?
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for the fast-food executive on Feb. 16, said Taylor Haulsee, a spokesman for the committee chairman, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.
Four previously scheduled hearings were delayed as senators awaited Puzder's paperwork from the Office of Government Ethics.
The committee now has received the paperwork, Haulsee said.
Puzder is chief executive of Carpinteria, Calif.-based CKE Restaurants Inc., parent company of the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's fast-food franchises.
Democrats have criticized Puzder for labor law violations at his company's restaurants, as well as for his opposition to increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.
Opponents received more ammunition this week when Puzder admitted to employing a housekeeper who was an immigrant in the U.S. illegally .
