On Saturday, July 20^th, Patrick Pizzella became the Acting Secretary of Labor.

The incoming Acting Secretary is a supporter of American workers, who has worked for both Democrat and Republican administrations. He will continue the policies that have led to low unemployment rates for American workers and a strong economy.

On July 12, 2019, President Donald Trump named Pizzella as Acting Secretary of the Department of Labor after Secretary Alexander Acosta resigned. Patrick Pizzella will take over as Acting Secretary until Eugene Scalia is confirmed as Secretary of Labor.  

Pizzella has a distinguished career serving in the Trump administration and the last five administrations. He has worked in a variety of positions, but many of these roles involved working on labor issues and supporting American workers.

He is currently Deputy Secretary at the Labor Department. However, he began his career, after graduating from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Science in business administration, as a political staffer for President Ronald Reagan’s 1976 campaign. Afterwards, he was executive director of right-to-work committees in New Mexico and Delaware.

During the Reagan administration, Pizzella served on the staff of the General Services Administration (GSA) before his promotion to special assistant to the Administrator of the GSA. In 1985, he joined the Small Business Administration as special assistant to the Associate Deputy Administrator for Management and Administration and later as Director of Intergovernmental and Regional Affairs. From 1986 to 1988, Pizzella worked at the Department of Education, first as Administrator for Management Services and second as Deputy Under Secretary for Management until his resignation.

In 1989, Pizzella was a consultant for the Federal Housing Finance Board. Later, in 1990, he became the Board’s Director of the Office of Administration. Pizzella next worked in the private sector. After working in the private sector for a few years, Patrick Pizzella joined the George W. Bush administration as Acting Chief of Staff for the Office of Personnel Management during the presidential transition. President Bush later nominated him as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Administration and Management at the Department of Labor on March 6, 2001. From 2004 to 2005, he was a member of the board of directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.

After 2005, Pizzella managed his own consulting firm, Patrick Pizzella LLC. In August 2013, President Barack Obama nominated him to serve as a member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority, and on October 16, 2013, the U.S. Senate confirmed Pizzella as a member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority by voice vote.

On June 19, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Pizzella as the Deputy Secretary of Labor.

Since his confirmation almost a year later on April 11, 2018, Patrick Pizzella has been part of an administration and Department of Labor that has seen record unemployment numbers thanks to tax reform, deregulation and other free market policies of the Trump administration.

The U.S. unemployment rate, for example, has been at or below 4% for 16 straight months. For Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, African Americans, Americans with Disabilities, and Veterans, unemployment rates have reached record lows. The unemployment rate for adult women has also reached a low since the 1950s.

In addition, 5.6 million new jobs have been created since President Trump took office. There are now 7.3 million job openings, and there have been more job openings than job seekers for the past 15 months. Last month was also the 11^th straight month with wage growth at or above 3%.

Americans now need an Acting Secretary of Labor who will continue the President’s successful policies, and President Trump has named one.

Because of his experience and his commitment to helping American workers, Patrick Pizzella will be a terrific Acting Secretary at the Department of Labor.