Jan Elizabeth AcostaAlexander Acosta / Spouse
President Donald J. Trump nominated Alexander Acosta to be the 27th United States Secretary of Labor. He was sworn in on April 28, 2017. Secretary Acosta is the son of Cuban refugees, a native of Miami, and first-generation college graduate.
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Prior SecretariesSecretaryDates ServedAlexander Hamilton, New YorkSept. 11, 1789 - Jan. 31, 1795Oliver Wolcott Jr., ConnecticutFeb. 3, 1795 - Mar. 3, 1797 Mar. 4, 1797 - Dec. 31, 1800Samuel Dexter, MassachusettsJan. 1, 1801 - Mar. 3, 1801 Mar. 4, 1801 - May. 6, 180132 more rows
Acosta resigned as Labor Secretary, effective July 19, 2019, following criticism of his role in the Epstein case.
Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. (/heɪɡ/; December 2, 1924 – February 20, 2010) was United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.
A native of Live Oak, Acosta has lived and worked in the Northern District of Florida for most of her life. She knows its people, and she knows its problems. She set her sights on becoming a prosecutor at age 13 when her sister became a victim of a violent crime.
Winifred Acosta is someone who fits the bill in every way. She is a career prosecutor who has worked in the office for nearly 18 years. During that time, she has gained experience in every division in the office as a criminal prosecutor, a civil litigator and an appellate attorney.
Secret Service, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Acosta is a known leader of the bar, and she currently serves as the diversity chair and executive council member of the Florida Bar Association's Government Lawyer Section. As her career shows, Acosta is a consummate professional, not a politician.
He was sworn in on April 28, 2017. Secretary Acosta is the son of Cuban refugees, a native of Miami, and first-generation college graduate. He earned his undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard University.
Secretary Acosta has served in three presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed positions. In 2002, he was appointed to serve as a member of the National Labor Relations Board, where he participated in or authored more than 125 opinions.
Since then, he has been involved in several high profile cases, such as the prosecution of Jack Abramoff and Jose Padilla. It was during his tenure as the U.S. attorney of Southern Florida that he became involved with the Jeffrey Epstein case. Acosta sanctioned a federal non-prosecution agreement with Epstein.
Alex Acosta, along with his wife, Jan Acosta, currently lives in their residence in Miami. They have two daughters named Delia and Rosalia.
However, there have also been claims that this plea deal was intended to protect several of Epstein’s victims, who were lured into committing crimes under Epstein.
Acosta has come out stating that he was not the only one involved in the deal. It is even stated that Acosta met with Epstein’s legal team at the Marriott Hotel to discuss the terms of the deal. There are even reports of emails exchanged between Acosta, and prosecutor Marie Villafaña, agreeing to Epstein’s legal team’s demands.
Acosta was reportedly considered to be the president of the University of Florida Law School, but according to Stephen Bainbridge, a UCLA law professor, he was rejected possibly because law professors had negative reactions to his roles in the 2004 Ohio voting rights case and the prescription drug case in which an attorney’s conversations were secretly recorded.
Acosta resigned as assistant attorney general in June 2005.
Acosta was criticized for some of his actions as assistant attorney general, though, including his involvement in a 2004 Ohio voting rights case. At the time, two separate lawsuits challenged an Ohio procedure allowing individuals to challenge a voter’s eligibility at a polling place, according to the Los Angeles Times . Acosta said in a letter to a U.S. district court judge that “nothing in the Voting Rights Act facially condemns challenge statutes.”
Acosta spoke about a variety of cases he has dealt with involving the civil rights of Muslims, including one instance where he instructed the Justice Department to intervene when a young girl was asked to take off her hijab in school and suspended when she refused. He goes on to talk about the importance of the president speaking up to defend Muslims.
According to Acosta’s biography on the Florida International University website, he authored over 125 opinions while serving on the board.
Alexander Acosta speaks to the media at the Florida Federal Justice building on June 23, 2006 in Miami, Florida. (Getty)
Following his stint on the National Labor Relations Board, Acosta was appointed to the role of assistant attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights division. He was the first Hispanic to serve as an assistant attorney general for the U.S. government. This was another position that he was appointed to by President George W. Bush.
In his resignation letter to Trump, Acosta said, “It has meant so much to me that you have offered your steadfast support in our private discussions and in your public remarks.” But “your agenda, putting the American people first, must avoid any distractions,” Acosta wrote.
Leading Democratic presidential candidates, including Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, as well as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have demanded that Acosta quit.
Labor Secretary Alex Acosta says he will resign amid controversy over the way he handled a sex crimes case against wealthy businessman Jeffrey Epstein a decade ago when Acosta was U.S. attorney for southern Florida. The issue resurfaces when the politically connected Epstein, whose friends have included President Trump and former President Bill ...
Epstein was required to register as a sex offender and ended up serving a custodial sentence of 13 months in jail, where he was allowed out during the day on work release. Even Acosta expressed frustration with the lax punishment Epstein received.
The issue resurfaces when the politically connected Epstein, whose friends have included President Trump and former President Bill Clinton, is arrested on sex trafficking charges on July 6.
A Florida judge ruled in February 2019 that the team of Miami prosecutors led by Acosta broke the law when they hid the deal from the more than 30 underage victims who had allegedly been sexually abused by Epstein.
Acosta told reporters that he did not want his involvement in Epstein’s controversy to overshadow the administration’s accomplishments. Acosta said he will officially resign a week after his announcement. Deputy Labor Secretary Patrick Pizzella will take his place in an acting capacity, Trump said. Trump TWEET.