Business Week Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky on the Senate floor yesterday said Perez, the Justice Department’s top civil rights lawyer, has shown a willingness to “to bend or ignore the law” in pursuit of “far-left ideology.” Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Republican, joined McConnell in opposition. Senator Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican and member of the labor committee considering the nomination, said, “there’s real trouble with the nomination” because “a lot of people don’t feel he’s been straightforward” answering questions from lawmakers. “There’s a real concern about giving him the job,”Hatch told reporters.
“Thomas Perez’s nomination for U.S. labor secretary is running into mounting opposition from Senate Republicans, with some saying confirmation might be at risk. . . .
[And this spells more trouble for Perez:]
Representative Elijah Cummings of Maryland, top Democrat on the committee that held the hearing, yesterday joined Representative Darrell Issa of California, the committee chairman, in sending letter to Perez requesting that he provide all personal e-mails used to conduct official business that were subpoenaed by the panel last month, and respond by the end of this week.