For Obama, No Solace in Solis
This afternoon, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee abruptly canceled a session to consider the nomination of Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.) for Labor Secretary, after USA Today reported that her husband paid $6,400 to settle tax liens yesterday. As embarrassing as this is to the Obama administration, coming on the heels of two nominations being sunk over tax problems, Solis’s nomination should be of concern for other reasons. As The Washington Post‘s Michael Fletcher notes, her nomination “had been delayed by questions over her role on the board of the pro-labor organization American Rights at Work.”
American Rights at Work’s website still lists her as a board member. That is no small thing. Her membership on the board, combined with her voting record and campaign donation history, should raise serious doubts regarding her ability to consider disputes involving labor unions in an impartial fashion.