Bush Nominating Radzely For DoL Solicitor

The move comes as more of a formality, since Radzely has been serving in the post since January, when Eugene Scalia stepped down (See Scalia to Leave DoL Post) , according on the White House Web site.

Scalia is the son of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, for whom Radzely served as a law clerk following his graduation from Harvard Law School. The junior Scalia has been in the middle of controversy since President Bush appointed him to the position through a recess appointment in January 2002 (See Bush Bypasses Senate, Appoints Scalia to DoL) , and when his recess appointment expired in November of last year, he was designated acting solicitor by the President. Bush first tapped Scalia as labor solicitor in spring 2001, but Democrats who controlled the Senate blocked a vote on his nomination over union objections to his opposition of workplace safety regulations during the Clinton administration.

Then in July 2002, the judge in the Enron bankruptcy case asked for the records of conversations between Scalia and Robert Walls, Enron’s general counsel. Judge Arthur Gonzalez said the decision held relevance to the case in determining who should be responsible to trustee fees paid to State Street (See Enron Judge Checking for Motivations in Trustee Pay Switch).