Trump’s labor secretary pick — who favored replacing workers with robots — just withdrew his nomination

Andrew Puzder, the CEO of the fast food chains Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr., is withdrawing his nomination as President Trump’s pick for secretary of labor, according to a statement he shared this afternoon.

Puzder’s confirmation faced opposition from both Democrats and Republicans. His hearing was scheduled for Thursday morning.

When Puzder’s nomination was announced, comments he made earlier this year about his position on robots replacing human workers quickly surfaced. Unlike human workers, Puzder said, robots are "always polite, they always upsell, they never take a vacation, they never show up late, there's never a slip-and-fall or an age-, sex- or race-discrimination case.”

Puzder also opposed both a $15 minimum wage and the Affordable Care Act.

Puzder is the first of Trump’s cabinet picks to withdraw his nomination.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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