Effingham Native Raj Nayak Nominated for Top Labor Position

Effingham native Rajesh Nayak has been nominated for a top position in the US Department of Labor.

Nayak would serve as Assistant Secretary for Policy in the Labor Department. His confirmation hearing took place on Thursday.

Nayak's brother, Mike, a surgeon in St. Louis, posted a portion of Raj's remarks from the confirmation hearing. In those remarks, Raj Nayak thanked his parents, Dr. Dharmadev and Chitra Nayak, for their love and support and also acknowledged his hometown. He termed Effingham "a small town in South Central Illinois where I was born, spent my first 18 years, and made some of my best friends still today."

Bloomberg News reports the assistant secretary for policy will be the Department of Labor's primary liaison with the White House gatekeeper for rulemaking, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.

Raj Nayak served as a Labor Department political aide for most of the Obama administration and was recently was part of the Biden transition's agency review team for the Labor Department. 

Nayak and his wife Rebecca have a daughter, Lila, and a son, Jay. They live in Silver Spring, Maryland.