Trump nominates Andrew Puzder as EU ambassador

Jan. 23 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump picked restaurant executive Andrew Puzder as his ambassador to the European Union on Thursday.

Trump announced his nomination of Puzder on Truth Social, marking the second time he has tapped Puzder to join his administration after selecting him to lead the Labor Department during his first term in 2017.

Trump said in 17 years as CEO of CKE Restaurants, the parent of Carl's Jr and Hardee's, he led the restaurants out of "serious financial difficulty" to growth.

"Andy is a successful attorney, businessman, economic commentator, and author," Trump said on his platform. "Andy will do an excellent job representing our nation's interests in this important region."

During Puzder's confirmation process in 2017 an episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show highlighting "High-Class Battered Women" in which his ex-wife appeared in disguised and accused him of spousal abuse resurfaced.

Then, Republicans touted Puzder as a job creator while Democrats complained that he became wealthy on the back of poor employees who he paid "starvation" wages to. Those lines are likely to return in his upcoming confirmation hearing.

Those accusations and his admittance to hiring undocumented workers as housekeepers sunk his nomination as Labor Secretary during Trump's first term. This time around, his ex-wife has since recanted to abuse accusations while Senate Republicans are more solidly behind Trump's nominees than they were four years ago.