President Obama Set to Pick Civil Rights Lawyer to Head Labor Department

Reports are out that President Obama has settled on a choice to head the Department of Labor. His pick to succeed Hilda Solis, who left in January, is Thomas Perez who is currently the head of the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice. From The Hill:

President Obama plans to nominate Thomas Perez, who heads Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, to become the next secretary of Labor, according to reports.

Perez, who previously headed Maryland’s labor department, would replace former federal Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, who stepped down in January.

The Washington Post, citing two anonymous administration sources, reported Saturday that Obama intends to nominate Perez and Bloomberg reports that the president is “close to” selecting him.

The White House did not confirm the choice Saturday afternoon.

The Post account notes that Perez’s division has overseen voting rights cases against South Carolina and Texas, as well as numerous probes of police and sheriff’s departments.

I haven’t seen any red flags about this guy yet, so it remains to be seen whether or not this selection will result in an extended confirmation fight, but as we all know, these things can flare up quickly.