Today, President Trump will announce Alexander Acosta as his new Labor Secretary choice.
Alexander Acosta, former member of the National Labor Relations Board under President George W. Bush, is currently the dean of the Florida International University School of Law. If confirmed, Acosta, the son of Cuban immigrants, would be the first Hispanic member of Trump's Cabinet.A day earlier, fast-food chain CEO Andrew Puzder backed out of consideration for Labor secretary, amid bipartisan scrutiny of his personal and professional background.
Acosta’s reception comes as National Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s resignation. President Trump put out a series tweets questioning the legality of leaks that may have brought down Flynn:
“Leaking, and even illegal classified leaking, has been a big problem in Washington for years. Failing
(and others) must apologize!”
It’s likely that the whistleblower(s) seek to undermine the administration at an early stage, but how does the latest leaks compare to those under our former presidents? Does leaking classified information constitute as felony? Is this a common concern for the White House? What are some of the legal framework in place to protect whistleblowers?
Guests:
Josh Eidelson, reporter for Bloomberg Businessweek covering politics, policy and labor
Karoun Demirjian, reporter at the Washington Post
Russell Riley, associate professor and co-chair of the Miller Center’s Presidential Oral History Program at the University of Virginia