WASHINGTON — President Obama plans to announce Monday that he will nominate Thomas E. Perez, his civil rights chief, to be the next secretary of labor, a choice that promises to provoke a debate with Republicans about voting rights and discrimination.
Mr. Perez, the assistant attorney general in charge of the civil rights division at the Justice Department, would replace Hilda Solis, who stepped down in January after four years running the Labor Department.
The announcement comes just days after a Justice Department inspector general’s report found that the voting rights section has been torn by “deep ideological polarization,” with liberal and conservative factions in sharp conflict. The divisions date back to the Bush administration and most occurred before Mr. Perez was confirmed in October 2009. He portrayed the report as largely clearing the section on his watch.
But the report also raised questions about testimony he gave and Republicans made clear that they will take issue with his handling of some cases over the last three and a half years. His critics question, for example, whether he acted inappropriately in persuading the city of St. Paul, Minn., to drop a lawsuit seeking to limit fair housing claims when there is no intentional bias.
Liberals and labor leaders have hailed Mr. Perez. While at the Justice Department, he has pursued a record number of discrimination or brutality claims against local police and sheriff’s departments, challenged voter identification requirements imposed by Texas and South Carolina and reached the three largest residential fair lending settlements in history.
Mr. Perez, 51, who would be the only Hispanic in the Cabinet if confirmed, is the son of immigrants from the Dominican Republic. His father died when he was 12 but his family pressed the value of education so much that all four of his siblings are doctors. He graduated from Brown University and Harvard Law School.
Mr. Perez, the assistant attorney general in charge of the civil rights division at the Justice Department, would replace Hilda Solis, who stepped down in January after four years running the Labor Department.
The announcement comes just days after a Justice Department inspector general’s report found that the voting rights section has been torn by “deep ideological polarization,” with liberal and conservative factions in sharp conflict. The divisions date back to the Bush administration and most occurred before Mr. Perez was confirmed in October 2009. He portrayed the report as largely clearing the section on his watch.
But the report also raised questions about testimony he gave and Republicans made clear that they will take issue with his handling of some cases over the last three and a half years. His critics question, for example, whether he acted inappropriately in persuading the city of St. Paul, Minn., to drop a lawsuit seeking to limit fair housing claims when there is no intentional bias.
Liberals and labor leaders have hailed Mr. Perez. While at the Justice Department, he has pursued a record number of discrimination or brutality claims against local police and sheriff’s departments, challenged voter identification requirements imposed by Texas and South Carolina and reached the three largest residential fair lending settlements in history.
Mr. Perez, 51, who would be the only Hispanic in the Cabinet if confirmed, is the son of immigrants from the Dominican Republic. His father died when he was 12 but his family pressed the value of education so much that all four of his siblings are doctors. He graduated from Brown University and Harvard Law School.