R. Alexander Acosta, born in Miami to Cuban immigrants, is an American attorney and former government official who earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Harvard College in 1990 and a law degree cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1994.[1][2][6] After law school, he clerked for Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, then practiced employment and labor law at Kirkland & Ellis while teaching at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia School of Law.[1][2][5] Acosta held several Senate-confirmed roles under President George W. Bush: member of the National Labor Relations Board (2002-2003), where he authored over 125 opinions; Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice (2003-2005), becoming the first Hispanic in that position; and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida (2005-2009).[1][2][3][5] From 2009 to 2017, he served as dean of Florida International University College of Law and later as chairman of U.S. Century Bank.[1][2][3] In 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Acosta as the 27th U.S. Secretary of Labor; the Senate confirmed him 60-38, marking him as the first Latino in that cabinet role.[1][2][6][7] He resigned on July 19, 2019, amid criticism of a 2008 non-prosecution agreement he oversaw as U.S. Attorney involving financier Jeffrey Epstein, who received a lenient 13-month sentence with work release on state charges of soliciting minors, avoiding federal trial.[1][4] Acosta has received awards including twice being named among the nation's 50 most influential Hispanics by Hispanic Business magazine, the 2008 list of 100 most influential in business ethics, and the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's Chairman’s Higher Education Award in 2013.[2] Post-resignation, he has maintained a lower public profile, with no major recent roles noted as of early 2026.[1][7]