by President Biden seemed to acknowledge the strong pressure he felt from Democratic senators to choose an Asian-American candidate for his cabinet when he named Julie Su as Secretary of Labor.
President Biden formally sent Julie Su’s nomination as the next Secretary of Labor to the Senate on Tuesday, about two weeks after announcing his intention to tap her for the post.
Su, the current assistant secretary of labor who has served as head of California’s labor division during the coronavirus pandemic, has been nominated to succeed Marty Walsh, who is leaving the position to become the next executive director of the NHL Players’ Association.
Deputy Secretary of Labor Julie Su attends a Learn About Work Experiences event at the Skal restaurant in Brooklyn on April 11, 2022 in New York City. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for a fair wage/Getty Images)
The Senate confirmed Su as deputy labor minister in July 2021 by a razor-thin 50-47.
President Biden previously called her a “tested and experienced leader” who will build a “more inclusive economy.”
“For several decades, Julie has led the nation’s largest state labor agency, cracked down on wage theft, fought to protect human trafficking, raised the minimum wage, created well-paying, quality jobs, and established and enforced workplace safety standards,” Biden said last month.
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Republicans reject Su’s nomination, accusing her of overseeing “one of the biggest cases of unemployment insurance fraud” when she was Secretary of Labor in California.
“While the state was idly twiddling its thumbs and $32 billion in fraudulent payments were made to those who did not qualify for assistance, those who were eligible and who really needed assistance failed to receive timely payments for months,” Seven Congressional Republicans said , representing California, wrote a letter to Biden last month.
President Biden makes remarks on his appointment of Julie Su as Secretary of Labor. (The White House YouTube / Fox News)
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Some trade and business groups have also criticized her nomination.
“Deputy Secretary Su has been consistently hostile to small businesses throughout her career, and she mismanaged the California Unemployment Insurance program as head of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency,” said Michael Layman, senior vice president of government relations at the International Franchise Association in California an opinion.
“Based on her record, she does not deserve a promotion from a largely operational role to the key policy-maker at the Department.”
Fox Business’ Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.
