WASHINGTON _ With his Senate hearing to be labor secretary looming Thursday, Andrew Puzder is seeing his supporters and opponents mobilize.
As minimum-wage activists protested Monday against Puzder in major cities, Sen. Elizabeth Warren published a 28-page letter attacking Puzder's record as a fast-food executive and asking him pointed questions about his potential conflicts of interest, allegations of sexual and racial discrimination in his restaurants and his willingness to enforce labor laws and regulations.
"Your long record of public comments reveals a sneering contempt for the workers in your stores, and a vehement opposition to the laws you will be charged with enforcing," wrote Warren, D-Mass. She sits on the committee scheduled Thursday to question Puzder, a former St. Louis attorney and CEO of CKE Restaurants, the parent company of Hardee's and Carl's Jr.
Meanwhile, more than 100 trade organizations signed onto a letter of public support for Puzder, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, several construction organizations, fast food associations and the Financial Services Roundtable.
"Mr. Puzder has seen, firsthand, the impact of burdensome regulations promulgated by the previous administration," the letter reads. "Being a respected, proven leader in an industry that represents approximately 10 percent of the workforce gives him a unique set of qualifications."
Puzder's confirmation hearing has been delayed repeatedly while he completes his financial disclosures. Democrats worry that the committee vetting Puzder will repeat the process it used for Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, in which senators' questioning was limited to five minutes.
CNN reported Monday that four Republican senators _ Tim Scott of South Carolina, Johnny Isakson of Georgia, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine _ had told Senate Republican leadership they were for now withholding support for Puzder until after Thursday's hearing.
If three of the four decide to oppose Puzder, his nomination would be in doubt since no Democrat has yet publicly indicated support of the nominee.
Republicans control the Senate, 52-48, and would need at least 50 votes to confirm Puzder, with Vice President Mike Pence delivering the tie-breaking vote.
That was how DeVos was confirmed, with Murkowski and Collins voting with Democrats against the education secretary.
Collins, in a statement released by her office, said she has not reached a decision.
"I almost always wait until there's a hearing, unless I know the individual well," she said. "I've had two conversations with Mr. Puzder. I think there are outstanding questions that I'm sure will be delved into at his hearing."
Spokespersons for Murkowski, Scott and Isakson said it would be incorrect to say the senators have concerns about Puzder. Rather, they're reserving judgment until after his Thursday hearing _ the same standard they applied to other nominees, the spokespersons said. The senators sit on the committee vetting Puzder.
"We're not going to make a decision one way or the other _ especially publicly _ until after his hearing on Thursday," Isakson's communications director Amanda Maddox said. She added that Puzder had a "great" meeting with Isakson in January and the two talked about their business backgrounds, she said, though "it was a very early-on meeting, so it was really just more of a get-to-know-you."
Scott's press secretary Michele Exner said people shouldn't mistake the senator's lack of public commitment for opposition.
"I think he just wants to wait and see what the hearing has, but really that's it," she said. "A lot of the issues surrounding his nomination are likely to come up during the questioning, and I think that's a critical process of the confirmation hearing."
Murkowski spokeswoman Karina Petersen said the senator "wants to learn more about the nominee, including during the hearing that's on Thursday."
