Andrew Puzder

Andrew Franklin Puzder (/ˈpʌzdər/; born July 11, 1950) is an American attorney, author, and businessman who has served as United States Ambassador to the European Union since 2025.

Puzder worked as a commercial trial lawyer in private practice from 1978 to 1995, handling many high-profile cases and being active in the anti-abortion movement. He was chief executive officer of CKE Restaurants, the parent company of Hardee's and Carl's Jr., from September 2000 to March 2017. While holding this position, he was nominated on December 8, 2016, by then-President-elect Donald Trump to serve as Secretary of Labor. After it came out that he had kept an illegal immigrant as his housekeeper, paying no taxes on her work, Puzder, who also faced criticism for his company’s treatment of its workers, withdrew on February 15, 2017, for want of votes needed for his confirmation.

On January 22, 2025, President Trump announced his nomination of Puzder to serve as United States Ambassador to the European Union in his second administration. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 2, 2025. He presented his credentials on September 11, 2025.

Puzder is a frequent commentator on economic and political issues. He co-authored a book entitled Job Creation: How It Really Works and Why Government Doesn't Understand It. After withdrawing as Secretary of Labor nominee, Puzder published his second book, The Capitalist Comeback: The Trump Boom and the Left's Plot to Stop It, in 2018.