Labor Secretary

Note: Linda Chavez resigned her nomination on Jan 9, 2001. No new appointee has been named at this time.

Linda Chavez, President-elect George W. Bush's pick for Labor Department Secretary, has a decades-long record of policies that are anti-affirmative action, anti-pay equity, anti-minimum wage and English-only education positions. Cecelia Munoz of the National Council of La Raza criticized Chavez for being "in favor of dismantling affirmative action. She really opposes a vigorous federal role in enforcing civil rights." AFL-CIO President John Sweeney decried Chavez's nomination as "an insult to American working men and women." Chavez has also publicly disqualified the reality of sexual harassment in the workforce, calling the United States a "nation of crybabies."

Chavez has a long record of opposing gay rights and supported the passage of the Defense of Marriage Act, stating that same-sex marriage would harm "children, families, and finally.civilization itself." Chavez has undermined initiatives to diversify education, stating that "No teacher suggested I'd be better off reading books by second-rate authors who happened to share my ethnicity or gender." She also opposes hate-crimes legislation, is pro-gun and a gun owner, and does not support an individual's right to euthanasia.

Chavez served as Ronald Reagan's U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Director from 1983-1985 and became his Director of Public Liaison in 1985. Chavez was soundly defeated for the U.S. Senate in Maryland when she ran against Senator Barbara Mikulski in 1986. After losing her bid for election, Chavez became President of U.S. English, which opposes bilingual education and lobbies to make English the official language of the United States. Currently, Chavez is the President and founder of Center for Equal Opportunity, a right-wing think-tank that opposes affirmative action. She is also a member of the Board of Advisors to the Independent Women's Forum, a right-wing women's group. Chavez serves on this board along with Chairwoman Christina Hoff-Somers, a known antifeminist.

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