Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) backed Julie Su as President Joe Biden’s pick for labor secretary to replace Marty Walsh despite his earlier push for other candidates.
Biden is poised to nominate Su, who serves as Walsh’s deputy, after Walsh announced he would be stepping down next month to join the National Hockey League Players Association. Su has long been considered a top contender to be Walsh’s replacement, with Sanders noting he’s “confident” in her abilities.
MARTY WALSH REPLACEMENT RACE SPLITS DEMOCRATS EVEN BEFORE LABOR SECRETARY ANNOUNCES EXIT
“I look forward to working with her to protect workers’ rights and build the trade union movement in this country,” Sanders said in a tweet.
On Tuesday, the White House confirmed Biden would nominate Su as his next labor secretary, ending a weekslong debate among congressional Democrats on who should be tapped for the high-profile job. Sanders initially backed Sara Nelson, the head of the Association of Flight Attendants, for the position and also expressed support for former Labor Secretary Robert Reich.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had pushed for former Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) to be nominated, prompting pushback from some Democrats who called the proposal “divisive.”
“Couldn’t think of a more divisive candidate for the job!” said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) in a tweet.
Su’s nomination elicited criticism from some Senate Republicans, with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee, calling her voting record “troubling.”
“Deputy Secretary Su has a troubling record and is currently overseeing the Department of Labor’s development of anti-worker regulations that will dismantle the gig economy. This does not inspire confidence in her ability to hold her current position, let alone be promoted,” he said in a statement. “The HELP Committee should have a full and thorough hearing process to evaluate Julie Su’s nomination.”
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Sanders’s support of Su marks an important shift, as Democrats will need to be united in order to push her nomination through the Senate. In order to be appointed to the position, Su will need a majority vote in the Senate, which the Democrats narrowly control 51-49.
Before joining the Biden administration, Su served as California’s labor commissioner and then as the secretary for the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, where she oversaw the rollout of California’s gig work law. If approved, Su would become the first Asian American to hold a secretary-level position in Biden’s Cabinet.
