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Trump Picks Former Civil Rights Attorney To Head Department Of Labor

Alexander Acosta has a strong background as an attorney and previously served under President George W. Bush.

By: Stephanie Liebergen

Posted at 2:07 PM, Feb 16, 2017

and last updated 2017-02-16 14:07:00-05

Alexander Acosta is President Donald Trump's new nominee to lead the Department of Labor.

Trump's previous nominee for secretary of labor, Andrew Puzder, withdrew his name from consideration.

Acosta is the dean of the law school at Florida International University, but he's no stranger to presidential appointments.

He's been a member of the National Labor Relations Board, an assistant attorney general for civil rights and the U.S. attorney general for the southern district of Florida. Former President George W. Bush appointed him to all three positions.

Acosta spent less than a year on the NLRB from December 2002 to August 2003. He left the board to lead of the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division. In June 2005, Acosta left the division to become the U.S. attorney for the southern district of Florida, a position he stayed in for about four years.

If the Senate confirms him, Acosta's Hispanic heritage would add a bit of diversity to Trump's Cabinet.