Trump Could Probably Get Pizzella Confirmed-- But Might Lose The Senate In 2020 Because Of It

Pizzella has no problem working for crooks and scumbags

Have you noticed that when Trump fires someone, he then tends to do two things: replace them with someone much worse and give them the title of "acting"-whatever. Acting this or acting that doesn't have to be confirmed by the Senate and even this McConnell-run Trump-enabling Senate wouldn't want to go on record confirming some of the criminals and fascists Trump is putting into government positions. Sunday, we took a look at the Democratic senators who voted to confirm Alex Acosta as Labor Secretary. Four of these Trump's-Democrats were defeated-- in the midst of a purported "blue wave." I don't doubt Trump and McConnell could get all his nominees through... but no one wants that on their record for the next time they have to face the voters. Take Acosta's unsavory replacement, Patrick Pizzella, a total slime ball lobbyist. "In the late 1990s, his clients included a Russian front group, the government of the Marshall Islands and a trade association fighting against the minimum wage in a U.S. commonwealth. For these and other clients, he worked with Jack Abramoff, who was at the forefront of a corruption scandal in the 2000s that ultimately resulted in 21 convictions and major reforms to lobbying laws." It also resulted in several members of Congress (Senator Conrad Burns and Rep. Richard Pombo, for example) losing their seats, more "voluntarily" retiring-- including GOP Majority Leader Tom DeLay-- and at least one GOP committee chairman going to prison.

Pizzella has given thousands of dollars in legalistic bribes to Republican organizations and to Republican members of Congress and Republican candidates-- from Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney, George W. Bush, John Boehner, Tom Tancredo, Barbara Comstock and anyone else willing to trade votes and influence for cash. By not naming him actual Secretary of Labor-- forcing a contentious debate and Senate vote-- voters will never know, at least for sure, if vulnerable Trump allies like Susan Collins (R-ME), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Martha McSally (R-AZ), David Perdue (R-GA), Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) would actually vote for some as obviously unfit as Patrick Pizzella.

Pizzella, who has been serving as the deputy secretary of labor under Acosta, was appointed to the Federal Labor Relations Board by President Barack Obama in 2013. He previously served as the assistant secretary of labor for administration and management for eight years under President George W. Bush.

Prior to that appointment, Pizzella was as a lobbyist at Preston, Gates & Ellis, which would later combine with another lobbying firm to form K&L Gates. Abramoff also worked at the firm, whose dozens of clients included several foreign entities.

Documents obtained by OpenSecrets show that Pizzella was one of the lobbyists who worked on behalf of a shell corporation connected to the Russian government in the late 1990s. He was listed in a 1997 lobbying disclosure form as the “director of coalitions” for Chelsea Commercial Enterprises Ltd., a Bahamas-based organization working closely with the Russian oil company Naftasib, which was itself a close affiliate of the Russian government.

Working alongside Abramoff and others, Pizzella helped Chelsea Commercial advocate for “various commercial business enterprises, including investments in Russian businesses.”

The Department of Labor did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Pizzella’s lobbying ties to Chelsea Commercial Enterprises.

Another client that paid Preston, Gates & Ellis more than $2.3 million between 1999 and 2000 was the Western Pacific Economic Council, a trade association of companies with manufacturing centers in the Northern Mariana Islands.The archipelago located north of Guam is a U.S. commonwealth.

Low wages and little enforcement of labor laws made the commonwealth an attractive destination for garment factories, who could still tag their merchandise as Made in the USA. In the late 1990s, minimum wage on the islands was $3.05 compared to a federal minimum wage of $5.15, a concern for both humanitarian groups worried about inhumane conditions and labor groups who worried about outsourcing.

Pizzella was among the lobbyists from Preston, Gates & Ellis who worked to oppose two bills that would have extended U.S. minimum wage laws to the islands. Neither bill made it to a vote.




Pizzella’s connections to Abramoff and record on the minimum wage came up during his confirmation hearing to become deputy secretary in July 2017. In response to a question from former Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), Pizzella said he was not aware of any substandard labor conditions in the Northern Mariana Islands while his firm was lobbying there.

“I was not aware of any such thing,” Pizzella said. “I did not know. I just learned that 21 of Mr. Abramoff’s colleagues were also convicted of wrongdoing. I was not one of them.”

Abramoff and his associates ultimately fell into trouble after they conspired to swindle Native American tribes that had contracted the firm for help in establishing casinos. Abramoff’s tactics included coordinating lobbying against his own clients so he could ask for more money for their services.

Abramoff and his related organizations ultimately reaped $85 million from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, the Louisiana Coushatta tribe and other tribal groups.

Pizzella lobbied on behalf of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw in 1999 and 2000, but was never implicated in his former colleague’s wrongdoing.

Pizzella also registered as a foreign agent for the Republic of the Marshall Islands in 2000, working to convince Congress to relocate and compensate the indigenous peoples for damages stemming for atomic weapons testing in 1946.

The new acting secretary is the latest former lobbyist to gain a seat in the presidential cabinet. Acting Secretary of Defense Mark Esper was a lobbyist for the defense giant Raytheon. Andrew Wheeler, Environmental Protection Agency administrator, lobbied for Murray Energy, the coal company owned by magnate Robert Murray. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt was a lobbyist for the oil and gas industry.

Alex Azar, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, oversaw lobbying efforts at drug company Eli Lilly but never registered as a lobbyist with Congress.

Maybe this kind of stuff helps explain why all 4 of the top Democratic contenders are beating Trump in the just-released NBC/Wall Street Journal poll. Republican voters don't care about this kind of thing at all-- it's part of being on a team-- but independent voters can't stand it and it's part of why Trump is doing so badly among them and why he's so likely oo lose in 2020-- even if the Trump Recession hasn't kicked in by election day.