“He is proud of his work in this context,” Staudt, the Washington University dean said, and used it as an example of Puzder’s ability to listen to different opinions.

But Puzder was not without controversy while in St. Louis.

In 1989, it was widely reported that Puzder’s ex-wife, Lisa, alleged in legal divorce filings that she had been abused by her ex-husband. Puzder, who headed then-Gov. John Ashcroft’s abortion task force, denied the allegations.

A spokesman for Puzder late Thursday issued a copy of an email sent by Puzder’s ex-wife on Nov. 30 in which she recanted those allegations.

“I impulsively filed for a divorce without your knowledge and was counseled then to file an allegation of abuse,” the email says. “I regretted and still regret that decision and I withdrew those allegations over thirty years ago. You were not abusive. I will most definitely confirm to anyone who may ask that in no way was there abuse.”

Attempts to reach Puzder’s ex-wife Thursday were not successful.