Biden Labor Nominee Julie Su Advanced by Senate Panel

Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su testifies before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee during her confirmation hearing to be the next secretary of the Labor Department in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 20, 2023. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, President Joe Biden’s nominee to become the secretary of the Department of Labor (DOL), was advanced by a Senate committee with a vote of 11-10 on Feb. 27. All GOP Committee members voted against her nomination.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, led by Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), took up Ms. Su’s nomination for the second time in a closed-door committee after she failed to make it to the Senate floor during her last nomination.

The committee’s ranking member, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), expressed his opposition to lack of transparency during the committee vote. In a floor speech on Feb. 26, he criticized Mr. Sanders for the decision to vote without a public hearing.

The decision came after the HELP chair denied Mr. Cassidy’s formal request for a hearing on the nomination to allow members of the committee to speak to their concerns about Ms. Su and her leadership at the Labor Department.

In particular, the lawmaker cited Ms. Su’s track record as acting secretary of labor, where Mr. Cassidy asserts she promoted labor unions at the cost of individual liberties and economic development.

Among these is the DOL’s last worker classification rule, which threatens the freedom of 27 million American independent contractors and could destroy the gig economy.

Ms. Su has mismanaged the DOL during her time as interim secretary, according to Mr. Cassidy.

“During Ms. Su’s first nomination hearing for secretary of labor last April, the committee addressed a variety of concerns with her past record in California and her tenure at the Department of Labor,” said Dr. Cassidy.

“Since then, concerns over Ms. Su’s leadership of DOL have grown. They warrant further public review from this committee.”

The lawmaker also said that under Ms. Su, the DOL has failed to put a stop to illegal child labor, which he asserts has increased by 50 percent since 2022.

He claimed in his floor speech that there have been alarming reports that senior DOL officials have persistently ignored warnings about the exploitation of migrant children for cheap labor and that her department has ignored the warnings and failed to respond adequately.

For his part, Mr. Sanders has offered his support for the candidate, saying in a Feb. 26 press release from the committee, “I strongly support Acting Secretary Julie Su’s renomination to serve as Secretary of Labor. She has been an excellent Deputy Secretary of Labor, an excellent Acting Secretary of Labor, and I believe that she will make an excellent Secretary of Labor.

“Her strong pro-worker track record and tireless dedication to working families across this country shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that she is the right person for the job. I urge my colleagues to support her nomination.”

Committee members will vote on Ms. Su’s nomination for the second time this year. After the completion of the first session of the 118th Congress, Ms. Su’s candidacy was sent back to the White House since it had not been brought to a vote before the full Senate.

‘Lack of Transparency’

“The Chair’s decision to not hold a public hearing on Ms. Su is unacceptable and shows a lack of transparency from the Majority,“ continued Dr. Cassidy. ”It undermines the committee’s constitutional duty to advise and consent on presidential nominees.

“No one is above accountability, especially an unconfirmed yet acting cabinet-level nominee with massive influence over our nation’s economy.”

Previously, the HELP committee advanced Ms. Su on April 26 of last year, pushing her nomination toward a Senate floor vote.

Before she was appointed acting secretary of labor last year, Ms. Su had held the role of deputy secretary under former Labor Secretary Marty Walsh.

Mr. Walsh left his government position to take over as president of the National Hockey League Players Association in 2023.

Ms. Su’s nomination was advanced in the HELP panel by a vote of 11–10 along party lines. At the same time, three Democrats who were still hesitant, together with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), obstructed a full Senate confirmation, which required nearly universal support from Senate Democrats to be approved.

The nominee was eventually sent back to the White House late last year rather than being subjected to a final vote on the floor that was thought likely to fail.

Before working in the DOL, Ms. Su was employed by the California Department of Labor. Centrists from both parties voiced concerns over her leading the nation’s Labor Department.

Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Angus King (I-Maine), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and Ms. Sinema said they were hesitant to support the nominee.

During her tenure as California secretary of labor, Su helped implement a policy that effectively shut down the gig economy for a large number of people.

Later, California’s legislature was required to approve more than 100 exclusions to the law, resulting in a legislative list that was longer than the bill itself.

Under Ms. Su’s leadership as interim secretary, the DOL is being sued by a group of freelancers due to encouragement by that department that employers classify independent contractors as employees.

The new rule in California is scheduled to take effect on March 11. Critics say the state law is intended to benefit labor unions and will drive up costs for businesses.

Thus far, the U.S. Supreme Court has turned away challenges to the state law, most recently in June 2022.

Joseph Lord contributed to this report.