Rene Alexander "Alex" Acosta (born January 16, 1969) is an American attorney. Acosta was the 27th United States Secretary of Labor serving from April 28, 2017 until July 19, 2019. He was the dean of the Florida International University College of Law from 2009 through 2017. He is Republican. On February 16, 2017, he was announced as President Donald Trump's nominee for the United States Secretary of Labor.