President Donald J. Trump Nominates R. Alexander Acosta to be Secretary of Labor

Reporting cited here

1. documented

   Donald Trump nominated R. Alexander Acosta to be secretary of labor on February 16, 2017.

   Presidential nomination announcement

   Trump nominated Alexander Acosta to run the Labor Department · Nomination confirmed; Acosta later resigned

2. documented

   Trump nominated Alexander Acosta to be labor secretary in February 2017 after Acosta, as U.S. attorney for Southern Florida, had approved the federal non-prosecution agreement with Epstein.

   Nomination announcement

   Trump put the prosecutor behind Epstein's extraordinary non-prosecution deal in the Cabinet · Acosta resigned in 2019; DOJ's 2020 review found poor judgment, not professional misconduct.

3. documented

   The Senate confirmed Trump's nominee R. Alexander Acosta as labor secretary by a 60–38 vote on April 27, 2017, and Acosta was sworn in on April 28.

   Trump nomination

   Senate confirmed Acosta 60–38; he was sworn in the next day · Served until July 2019

4. documented

   In reviewing the Epstein non-prosecution agreement approved before Acosta joined Trump's Cabinet, DOJ's Office of Professional Responsibility found that Acosta exercised poor judgment in resolving the federal investigation through the agreement and in failing to ensure victim notice, but found no professional misconduct and no evidence that corruption or other impermissible considerations drove his decision.

   Trump Cabinet relationship

   DOJ review found poor judgment—not professional misconduct—in Acosta's Epstein resolution · OPR found poor judgment but no professional misconduct on November 12, 2020