NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Former Hardee's CEO and Tennessean Andy Puzder is now being nominated to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the European Union.
The nominations sent from the White House on Tuesday listed Puzder, of Brentwood. He was the only Middle Tennessean on the list.
Puzder was a former U.S. Secretary of Labor nominee during the first President Donald Trump administration in 2017. But Puzder withdrew that nomination after Republican senators turned their support elsewhere. During that time, protesters in Franklin asked that Puzder "stay home," disagreeing at the time with his labor practices in the fast food industry. He was a staunch opponent of any federal minimum wage increases.
Puzder helped relocate Hardee's headquarters — CKE — to Franklin in 2016 from California. He held the position at CKE for 17 years.
CKE Restaurants owns or franchises Hardee’s locations, mostly in the Midwest and Southeast. They also own Carl’s Jr. and Green Burrito restaurants, mostly in the West. The company also owns or franchises the brands internationally.
Trump didn't express why he chose Puzder to advise relations with the European Union.
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