President Bush has appointed Eugene Scalia to be Labor Department Solicitor, one of the top jobs in the DOL front office, with clout over policy and standards-setting, as well as the responsibility for defending regulatory actions in court.

Scalia comes in through the back door, via a "recess appointment," because Senate Democrats opposed his nomination. Scalia, son of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, was a major opponent of the Clinton administration's failed ergo rule, calling the underlying science "quackery" and "junk science" in one paper.

Recess appointments, made by the President while Congress is recessed, remain in effect until the current session of Congress adjourns, which will probably be this coming October.