Wilbur Ross, Trump Cabinet pick, says he fired undocumented employee ahead of confirmation hearing

During his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday, Secretary of Commerce nominee Wilbur Ross admitted that he’d recently fired one of his household employees upon discovering that this person was an undocumented immigrant.

The billionaire investor acknowledged that, after receiving the nomination to be commerce secretary for the Trump administration, he’d decided to recheck the immigration status of all current and former household staff “in order to verify the legality of the employment.”

Of the “dozen or so” household employees he’d hired over the years, Ross said that all but one were able to produce “appropriate records” and, “in many cases, they had advanced to the point where they are citizens.”

He said only one person, who’d apparently provided Ross with a Social Security card and valid driver’s license when he hired him or her in 2009, was unable to do so when asked again. He said the person “therefore was terminated.” Ross had disclosed this information to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee ahead of Wednesday’s hearing.

In 1993, similar revelations — dubbed “Nannygate” — also derailed two of President Bill Clinton’s nominations for attorney general. There’s no sign that Ross’ Wednesday announcement will be affected, however, and he is expected to sail through the Republican-controlled Senate.

In 2009, one of Obama’s Cabinet nominees, Tim Geithner, also faced extra scrutiny after it was revealed he had employed an immigrant housekeeper who did not have proper work papers, and he did not pay proper taxes as a result. He was eventually confirmed as treasury secretary. But another Obama nominee, then-health secretary designee Tom Daschle, withdrew from the process after his own tax flap.

Ross isn’t the only Trump Cabinet appointee to discover potential problems with his personal payroll during the confirmation review process.

According to the New York Times, Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., Trump’s pick for White House budget director, has informed the Senate Budget Committee that he failed to pay more than $15,000 worth of payroll taxes for a babysitter he and his wife employed from 2000 to 2004.

Mulvaney will likely be asked to address the issue during his confirmation hearing on Jan. 24.

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