Obama names Perez labor head, promotes cabinet diversity

The White House said today that President Barack Obama will pick Assistant U.S. Attorney General Thomas Perez as labor secretary. Perez would replace Hilda Solis, maintaining Hispanic diversity in this second term cabinet.

“Tom is a dedicated public servant who has spent this career fighting to keep the American dream within reach for hard-working middle class families and those striving to get into the middle class,” said a statement from the White House.

The 51-year-old new labor secretary has been the head of the Justice Department’s civil-rights division since 2009. Last May in a lawsuit, Perez accused Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his whole department of discriminating against Latinos.

White House officials said the president is trying to make cabinet choices that represent the coalition of Hispanic, Black and women voters who helped him win re-election last November.

Perez has a law degree from Harvard University and holds degrees from Brown University. His background includes being secretary of the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, which oversees labor law and workplace regulations.  

If the Senate confirms Perez, he would play an important role in pushing Obama’s labor agenda of immigration reform and raising the nation’s minimum wage to $9 an hour from $7.25 an hour.