The Biden administration is desperately trying to corral enough votes in the Seate to approve Julie Su as the next Secretary of Labor. The previous labor secretary, Marty Walsh, left early this year to run the National Hockey League’s Player Association.
Su was confirmed as deputy labor secretary in 2021, but her move to the top spot in the Labor Department has been stymied by revelations about California’s massive fraud and waste in the state’s unemployment insurance program. At least $30 billion was handed out to fraudsters, including hundreds of inmates in California prisons.
For Biden, it would be another box checked. Su would be his first Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) pick to head a major department.
California prison inmates stole a billion dollars in unemployment claims while supposedly being watched by prison guards. So Biden now wants to make the architect of that system a member of his cabinet.
Several Democrats have expressed reservations. Montana Senator Jon Tester hasn’t committed to supporting Su, and West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin indicated he’s a firm “no.” Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema has also failed to indicate whether she will back Biden’s choice.
“We hope,” a White House official said, “Senator Manchin and Senator Sinema reconsider their position.”
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The official’s comments came just minutes after Manchin said he would oppose Su’s nomination. The West Virginia Democrat touted Su’s credentials as “impressive” but said he ultimately decided to vote against her over a “genuine concern” regarding ideology.
Sinema has been publicly undeclared, though the official’s comments suggest that the Arizona Independent has signaled to the White House that she has reservations about the nominee. Sinema does not generally forecast her votes. A spokesperson declined to comment.
With Republicans expected to be universally opposed to Su’s confirmation, she can only lose one person from the Democratic caucus and still win confirmation. No Republicans are expected to support her nomination.
Su’s nomination has been languishing since February. And while she’s been acting labor secretary since then, there are several key issues facing the labor department that have been hung up because Biden was reluctant to bring them to the fore without a confirmed labor secretary.
But Su has faced a barrage of criticism for her previous work overseeing California’s flawed unemployment insurance program, as well as her policy positions on hot-button subjects like rules governing independent contractors and franchise businesses. Su has met with a number of the holdouts in recent weeks, though she has yet to publicly win them over.
It is not clear what the administration would do if Su cannot be confirmed. Though there were several names floated when word got out that Walsh was entertaining the NHLPA job, there is not an obvious backup selection. And while Su can continue serving as acting Secretary on an indefinite basis, business groups have threatened to challenge actions she signs off on if she does so without Senate confirmation.
The Biden administration wants to destroy the franchise model and radically alter the gig economy largely because his supporters in organized labor rightly see themselves as blocked from organizing. Julie Su would be a perfect choice to do that, given what she accomplished in California.
