Thursday’s confirmation hearing for fast-food maven Andrew Puzder, the Trump administration’s nominee for Labor Secretary, is expected to be a bruising affair.

As of Monday, as many as four Republicans on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension committee were withholding support for Puzder, pending his performance during the hearing.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-ME, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-AK, were expected to be on the fence regarding Pudzer’s confirmation, given weeks of negative press and delays in Puzder’s financial disclosure filings with the Office of Government Ethics.

Both Collins and Murkowski defected from their party and voted against Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ on the Senate floor, forcing Vice President Mike Pence to cast the deciding vote.

But news reports that Sen. Tim Scott, R-SC and Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-GA, both members of the HELP committee, are also waiting for Puzder’s confirmation hearing before pledging support raise the possibility that Puzder could fail to get the necessary votes to move his confirmation to a full Senate vote.

A majority of yeas from HELP committee members, which includes 12 Republicans and 11 Democrats, will be needed to move Puzder along to a full Senate vote.

HELP Committee members at the hearing for Betsy DeVos, from left are, Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Warren, Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Conn., Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn. and Sen. Robert Casey, D-Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

A safe bet is that Puzder won’t enjoy any support from Democrats on the committee, which includes Sens. Tim Kaine, Bernie Sanders, and Al Franken, all of whom have taken strident positions against Trump cabinet nominees to date.

Sen. Patty Murray, R-WA, the ranking member of the committee, has been an outspoken critic of Puzder. Other influential Democrats not on the HELP Committee, including minority leader Chuck Schumer, and Sherrod Brown, D-OH, have called on the Trump administration to withdraw Puzder’s nomination.

But no Democrat has been as vocal in opposing Puzder as Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who also sits on the HELP committee.

Tuesday, Warren sent Puzder a 28-page letter putting more than 80 questions to the nominee regarding how he intends to administer the Labor Department if confirmed, and how he intends to manage conflicts of interest Warren and other critics say Puzder will bring to the agency.

As CEO of CKE Restaurants, which owns the Hardees and Carl’s Jr. franchises, Puzder has been an outspoken critic of the Affordable Care Act and the Obama administration overtime rule, as well as calls to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Company owned and franchisee-owned Hardees and Carl’s Jr. restaurants have also been subject to Labor Department investigations over alleged wage and hour infractions, and civil actions alleging discrimination in the workplace.

Among Warren’s inquiries were questions as to how Puzder would oversee the new economic and legal impact analysis of the fiduciary rule ordered by President Trump in a recent memorandum.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., questions Education Secretary-designate Betsy DeVos on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017, at DeVos' confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, as Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., listens. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Specifically, Warren wants to know whether Puzder consulted with administration officials on the contents of the memorandum, whether or not a new analysis would include input from proponents of the rule, and if Puzder would be willing to enforce the rule to the fullest extent of the law.

The Office of Budget and Management is currently reviewing a proposal from the Labor Department to delay the April 10 implementation date of the rule.

Chances are the extent of questions laid out in Warren’s letter won’t be asked during the hearing.

As indicated in the letter, the committee Chair, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-TN, is limiting members’ time for questions to five minutes, as he did during the hearing for DeVos.

Even with limited time, Democrats can be expected to land some blows on Puzder. Whether that will be enough to block his advance to a full Senate vote remains to be seen.

In the 2016 election cycle, Puzder and his wife contributed nearly $700,000, all to Republican candidates for office. Direct contributions were not made to the Trump campaign, according to data aggregated by MapLight, a non-profit that tracks money in politics.

But the Puzders did contribute to a number of senators who will vote to confirm him on the Senate floor, if the nominee advances out of committee.

Here is a list of some of some of the senators who have received donations from Puzder, CKE REstaurants, or the National Restaurant Association, which Puzder was an active member of during his tenure leading CKE, according to the trade group.

All data has been provided by MapLight.

1. Republicans and Democrats in Senate get cash from Puzder, restaurant lobby

Between Puzder, CKE Restaurants, and the National Restaurant Association, 79 sitting senators have received $1.2 million in donations over the past eight election cycles.

The largest beneficiaries have been Republicans, though 27 Democrats and one independent senator have also received cash.

2. Contributions to HELP committee members

Most HELP committee members have received contributions from the National Restaurant Association, but Puzder himself has only given to two senators on the committee: Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-UT, and Sen. Tim Scott, R-SC, have each received $1,000 from Puzder and his wife.

3. Republicans reportedly on the fence

The National Restaurant Association, which continues to strongly back Puzder, has given more than $100,000 to the four Republicans that are reportedly withholding support pending the confirmation hearing

4. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-GA

Isakson has received $33,700 from the National Restaurant Association over the past eight election cycles, the second-most among HELP committee members, behind Sen. Richard Burr, R-NC, who’s received $34,000.

5. Sen. Susan Collins, R-ME

Collins has received $29,000 from the National Restaurant Association, the third-most on the HELP committee and the 10^th-most for all of the Senate. Collins has received no direct cash from Puzder.

Collins has reportedly been investigating allegations levied by Puzder’s ex-wife that he physically abused her in the 1980s. His ex-wife has since recanted several times, most recently in a letter to HELP committee members.

6. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-AK

Sen. Murkowski has received $26,000 from the National Restaurant Association.

Isakson, Collins, and Murkowski have all received more than HELP committee chair Sen. Lamar Alexander, who continues his staunch support for Puzder in spite of revelations Puzder employed an undocumented housekeeper for five years.

Alexander has received $25,000 from the National Restaurant Association.

7. Sen. Tim Scott, R-SC

Sen. Scott has received $15,000 from the National Restaurant Association and $1,000 in donations from Puzder and his wife.

8. HELP Dems with money from National Restaurant Association

Seven Democrats on the HELP committee have taken money from the National Restaurant Association. Ranking member Patty Murray, D-WA, Sen. Bob Casey, D-PA, and Sen. Michael Bennet, D-CO, have each received $5,000.

9. Scraps for Sen. Warren

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who will come hard at Puzder during the hearing, has taken $500 from the National Restaurant Association over the years.

10. A free lunch for Sen. Sanders

Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-VT, has taken $15 from the National Restaurant Association, enough to buy a couple of burgers at CKE-owned restaurants.

Instant Insights /

Puzder, restaurant industry fund senators who might not back him

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