By . Beth Stebner and Associated Press . PUBLISHED: . 02:46 EST, 18 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 13:01 EST, 18 March 2013 . President Obama has nominated former assistant attorney general Thomas Perez as the next labor secretary, filling yet another second-term Cabinet vacancy. Mr Obama’s newest cabinet member will play a crucial role in the administration’s efforts to raise the minimum wage and reform immigration laws. Perez is the only Latino nominated to Obama's second-term Cabinet so far. Speaking at a brief ceremony in the White House’s East Room, the president said Perez was a ‘consensus builder’ whose ‘story reminds us of this country’s promise.’ Newest member: President Obama today nominated the Assistant Attorney General of Justice Department's Thomas Perez, right, as his choice for labor secretary . Appointment: Obama said Perez is a 'consensus builder'; if appointed, Perez is expected to help the administration on its stance on immigration and minimum wage . The president . continued: ‘Tom’s made protecting that promise for everybody the cause . of his life,’ as the nominee stood next to the president. The . Harvard-educated civil rights attorney is expected to face opposition . from some Republican senators, who say he has been too aggressive on . certain immigration issues, and too political. Before taking the job as . assistant attorney general, Perez was secretary of Maryland's Department . of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, which enforces state consumer . rights, workplace safety and wage and hour laws. In . choosing the 51-year-old Perez, the son of immigrants from the . Dominican Republic, Obama would be placing an already high-ranking . Hispanic official in a Cabinet slot. Perez would replace Hilda Solis, a former California . congresswoman and the nation's first Hispanic labor secretary. Perez's nomination has been expected for weeks, and comes with vigorous support from labor unions and Latino groups. But . a newly released report by the Justice Department's inspector general . is likely to provide fodder for Republicans who say the Justice . Department's Civil Rights Division has been too politicized. Background: Perez, a Harvard graduate and civil rights lawyer, would replace Hilda Solis . The . report, released last week, said Perez gave incomplete testimony to the . U.S. Commission on Civil Rights when he said the department's political . leadership was not involved in the decision to dismiss three of the . four defendants in a lawsuit the Bush administration brought against the . New Black Panther Party. The report also concluded that Perez did not intentionally mislead the commission and that the department acted properly. Republican . Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa said Perez appeared to be 'woefully . unprepared to answer questions' from the Civil Rights Commission. Lynn . Rhinehart, general counsel at the AFL-CIO, said the report shows that . Perez, who was first hired by the civil rights division as a career . attorney under President George H.W. Bush, restored integrity to the . voting rights program at the Justice Department.
President nominates Harvard-educated Thomas Perez for labor secretary .
Perez is only Latino nominated in Obama's second-term Cabinet thus far .
Perez, a civil rights attorney, is expected to be crucial part of administration's minimum wage and immigration initiatives .
By . Beth Stebner and Associated Press . PUBLISHED: . 02:46 EST, 18 March 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 13:01 EST, 18 March 2013 . President Obama has nominated former assistant attorney general Thomas Perez as the next labor secretary, filling yet another second-term Cabinet vacancy. Mr Obama’s newest cabinet member will play a crucial role in the administration’s efforts to raise the minimum wage and reform immigration laws. Perez is the only Latino nominated to Obama's second-term Cabinet so far. Speaking at a brief ceremony in the White House’s East Room, the president said Perez was a ‘consensus builder’ whose ‘story reminds us of this country’s promise.’ Newest member: President Obama today nominated the Assistant Attorney General of Justice Department's Thomas Perez, right, as his choice for labor secretary . Appointment: Obama said Perez is a 'consensus builder'; if appointed, Perez is expected to help the administration on its stance on immigration and minimum wage . The president . continued: ‘Tom’s made protecting that promise for everybody the cause . of his life,’ as the nominee stood next to the president. The . Harvard-educated civil rights attorney is expected to face opposition . from some Republican senators, who say he has been too aggressive on . certain immigration issues, and too political. Before taking the job as . assistant attorney general, Perez was secretary of Maryland's Department . of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, which enforces state consumer . rights, workplace safety and wage and hour laws. In . choosing the 51-year-old Perez, the son of immigrants from the . Dominican Republic, Obama would be placing an already high-ranking . Hispanic official in a Cabinet slot. Perez would replace Hilda Solis, a former California . congresswoman and the nation's first Hispanic labor secretary. Perez's nomination has been expected for weeks, and comes with vigorous support from labor unions and Latino groups. But . a newly released report by the Justice Department's inspector general . is likely to provide fodder for Republicans who say the Justice . Department's Civil Rights Division has been too politicized. Background: Perez, a Harvard graduate and civil rights lawyer, would replace Hilda Solis . The . report, released last week, said Perez gave incomplete testimony to the . U.S. Commission on Civil Rights when he said the department's political . leadership was not involved in the decision to dismiss three of the . four defendants in a lawsuit the Bush administration brought against the . New Black Panther Party. The report also concluded that Perez did not intentionally mislead the commission and that the department acted properly. Republican . Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa said Perez appeared to be 'woefully . unprepared to answer questions' from the Civil Rights Commission. Lynn . Rhinehart, general counsel at the AFL-CIO, said the report shows that . Perez, who was first hired by the civil rights division as a career . attorney under President George H.W. Bush, restored integrity to the . voting rights program at the Justice Department.
crucial role in the administration’s efforts to raise the minimum wage and reform immigration laws. Perez is the only Latino nominated to Obama's second-term Cabinet so far. Speaking at a General of Justice Department's Thomas Perez, right, as his choice for labor secretary . civil rights attorney is expected to face