Andy Puzder, the former chief executive of CKE Restaurants — the parent company of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s — is generally well-liked inside the West Wing and has maintained a strong relationship with President Donald Trump. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images Puzder resurfaces in Trump's White House in spite of #MeToo movement The former head of Carl's Jr. withdrew from his nomination as Labor secretary in February after the revelation of old domestic abuse allegations, but now he's under consideration for a White House role.

The #MeToo movement has created an atmosphere of zero tolerance for any claims of sexual harassment involving prominent men in entertainment, the media, business and Congress — but so far it seems that rule doesn’t apply in the Trump administration.

Latest case in point: The White House is considering finding a role for Andrew Puzder, President Donald Trump’s first pick for labor secretary, who withdrew his nomination in February after old allegations of domestic abuse resurfaced, according to three people familiar with the discussions.


It’s not clear what role Puzder might take in the administration, these people said, though it would have to be a non-Senate-confirmed slot given his withdrawal as labor secretary. Puzder, who denied the abuse allegations made by his ex-wife in a 1990 appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” also acknowledged employing an undocumented immigrant as a housekeeper before dropping out.

His withdrawal, one of the first personnel missteps for the young administration, was especially sensitive because of harassment allegations that Trump faced during the campaign — most infamously the “Access Hollywood” tape in which he was heard bragging about groping women.

Since Puzder stepped back from his nomination, reports that film mogul Harvey Weinstein systematically abused young actresses have unleashed a wave of revelations about predatory behavior by prominent men in many industries, costing many their careers.

But the White House still doesn’t appear to view Puzder’s past as a deal-breaker, even in this newly hyperaware environment.

“It shows an utter disregard to the awakening around sexual harassment and abuse,” said Vicki Shabo, vice president of the National Partnership for Women and Families. “The whole idea that somebody who has potentially abused, harassed and objectified women is put in a position of power in the White House is quite distasteful.”

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Nita Chaudhary, co-founder of the women’s advocacy group UltraViolet, agreed, saying that allegations of domestic abuse against Puzder disqualified him from serving in the administration. She added that “only a person with a history like Donald Trump could fail to see this.”

Democrats wasted little time in bashing any consideration of Puzder for a new role. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said in a written statement that “at a time when so many women are speaking up about sexual harassment and discrimination on the job, empowering someone with a history of objectifying women ... would be shocking if it wasn’t par for the course under President Trump.”

Puzder, the former chief executive of CKE Restaurants — the parent company of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s — is generally well-liked inside the West Wing and has maintained a strong relationship with the president, forged through their shared experiences as businessmen.

Steve Moore, an economist at the Heritage Foundation and informal economic adviser to the Trump administration, told POLITICO that Puzder “would be a great economic policy spokesman for Trump.” He said Puzder “got railroaded very unfairly by the political process” and noted that his ex-wife withdrew the allegations of domestic abuse after they were initially made decades ago.

As senior advisers and policy experts announce their departures from the administration at the one-year mark, the White House is casting a wide net for replacements. Given Trump’s nontraditional 2016 presidential campaign, the turmoil in the early days of the administration, and the ongoing Russia investigation, the White House has had a tough time attracting Republican job prospects into key slots.

When asked whether he was under consideration for a position in the administration, Puzder replied in an email to POLITICO on Monday: “I haven’t heard anything other than your email.”

He did not respond when asked whether he would accept a job if offered.

On Monday morning, the White House press shop blasted out a Wall Street Journal op-ed penned by Puzder. The article extolled the benefits of the White House’s rollback of regulations and its tax bill as moves that ultimately will help Americans workers, a favorite administration talking point.

“President Trump’s regulatory rollback is driving an economic surge few anticipated,” Puzder said in the piece.

Lately, Puzder has raised his public profile by working as an unpaid policy adviser to America First Policies, a position he took in October, according to the organization’s spokesperson, and by tweeting comments that flatter or bolster the administration’s message.

Over the weekend, Puzder praised the performance of White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller during his combative interview on Sunday with CNN’s Jake Tapper. Miller laid into his onetime ally, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, amid the ongoing fallout over Michael Wolff’s White House tell-all, “Fire and Fury.”

Puzder called Miller the “2nd smartest guy in the White House,” a message seemingly intended to both flatter the president and stick to the White House’s party line of bashing Bannon.

Puzder withdrew his nomination for labor secretary in February, less than 24 hours after POLITICO published a 1990 excerpt from “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in which Puzder’s ex-wife Lisa Fierstein appeared in disguise and leveled allegations of domestic abuse against him.

Fierstein retracted those allegations eight months after appearing on the show as part of a child custody agreement. She reiterated her retraction in a letter to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in January 2017, prior to Puzder’s withdrawal.

Puzder 'vowed revenge,' wife told Oprah An excerpt of 1990 interview of 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' with Lisa Fierstein, ex-wife of Andrew Puzder. POLITICO obtained the tape from Charlotte Fedders, a fellow guest on the Winfrey show.

The allegations of domestic abuse weren’t the only strike against Puzder’s nomination. Puzder also came under fire after the Huffington Post reported that he’d employed an undocumented worker for many years. He did not pay back taxes for the worker until after his nomination for labor secretary in December 2016.

Even before his nomination for labor secretary, Puzder incited controversy by approving Carl’s Jr. ads that featured scantily clad models eating burgers in bikinis.

The ads prompted accusations of sexism. But Puzder defended the ads in a 2015 interview with Entrepreneur. “I like beautiful women eating burgers in bikinis,” he said. “I think it’s very American. … I used to hear [that] brands take on the personality of the CEO. And I rarely thought that was true, but I think this one, in this case, it kind of did take on my personality.”

Puzder stepped down as CKE chief in April after withdrawing from his labor nomination.

One trade group said his entry into the West Wing would be a good thing.

“Andy’s ability to bring people together to develop policies that help small and large employers grow, while ensuring employees’ wages increase, would be an asset to any organization,” said Matthew Haller, senior vice president of government relations and public affairs for the International Franchise Association. “If he’s under consideration for any positions, IFA and our members would be fully supportive.”

Ian Kullgren contributed to this report.

