Trump said to pick DOL head: Andrew Puzder

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name Andrew Puzder as Labor Secretary today, according to CNBC.

A former attorney, Puzder is the CEO of CKE Restaurants, which owns several nationwide fast food chains.

Puzder has been an outspoken critic of what he says is overregulation’s crushing impact on the restaurant industry and the overall economy.

On his blog, andy.puzder.com, he also claims the country’s immigration and trade policies are “killing” the working and middle classes.

A frequent guest in the business media, and an advisor of President-elect Trump during his campaign, Puzder told CNBC the day after the election that the Affordable Care Act “has to go and it has to go quickly.”

He has also been an outspoken critic of the DOL overtime rule that doubles the overtime wage threshold, which would make about 4.2 million previously exempted workers eligible for overtime pay. A federal court in Texas has temporarily blocked the rule.

Puzder argues that the ACA has not only increased employers’ costs, but that increasing premiums in the individual market has drained consumers’ discretionary income.

On health care, he has argued that new tax incentives for the middle class will incentivize insurers to compete for workers that don’t have access to health care through their employer. He acknowledged the challenge of addressing insureds with preexisting health conditions to CNBC.