Trump's cabinet nominee admits hiring illegal immigrants

US President Donald Trump's nominee for Labor Secretary has admitted to hiring an undocumented immigrant as a maid, a revelation that has caused cabinet nominees in previous administrations to withdraw early.

Mr. Andrew Pudzer (Photo: Getty)

ReutersAndrew Pudzer, chief executive of restaurant group CKE Restaurants Inc, said in a statement late on February 6 that he and his wife hired a housekeeper for several years without knowing she was not legally allowed to work in the United States.

“When I learned of her situation, we immediately stopped her employment and offered to help her obtain legal documentation,” Mr. Pudzer said in the statement, adding that he has paid back taxes on the maid to the Internal Revenue Service and the state of California.

Mr. Pudzer, one of Mr. Trump’s nominees facing opposition from Senate Democrats and progressive groups, has criticized an overtime rule proposed by the Obama administration and opposed raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

President Donald Trump is facing difficulties in the process of approving cabinet nominees, as he enters the third week of his term.

The revelation about Mr. Pudzer came as Democrats in the US Senate held an all-night meeting yesterday in a last-ditch effort to block the confirmation of millionaire Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education.

Last week, an aide to the House Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions said the committee could not formally schedule a hearing with Mr. Pudzer until it received his paperwork from the Office of Government Ethics.

Some political strategists say that signals difficulties for Mr. Pudzer.

Last month, Wilbur Ross, Mr. Trump’s nominee for Commerce Secretary, said during his confirmation hearing that he recently fired a housekeeper after she failed to provide proof of legal residency.

A Senate committee approved his appointment. However, previous cabinet nominees have also encountered trouble for hiring immigrant workers.

Linda Chavez, who was nominated by former President George W. Bush to be Secretary of Labor in 2001, allowed a Guatemalan woman living in the United States illegally to stay in her home and gave her spending money.

Zoe Baird, former President Bill Clinton's pick for Attorney General in 1993, withdrew from the nomination after admitting to hiring two illegal immigrants and not paying Social Security taxes.

Another nominee under George W. Bush, former New York police commissioner Bernard Kerik, withdrew from consideration to be secretary of Homeland Security in 2004 after it was revealed that questions had been raised about the legal status of a former nanny and housekeeper.

According to Dan Tri