It’s time to pull Su’s nomination, congressman says

Julie Su was nominated to be the next secretary of labor more than nine months ago. Lacking the necessary votes to be confirmed, Su has remained the U.S. Department of Labor’s leader in an acting capacity.

Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., said that it is time for President Joe Biden to find a new nominee.

“Nine months is enough,” Kiley said. “President Biden knows Julie Su will never be confirmed and has given up even trying to get the votes. As long as Ms. Su remains in power as an unconfirmed acting secretary, every action of the Labor Department is under a legal cloud. It is past time for the president to withdraw this failed nomination and choose a qualified secretary who will perform his or her duties competently and will be on the side of American workers.”

Biden picked Su – formerly California’s labor commissioner – in February to replace Marty Walsh as acting labor secretary. Her confirmation hearing was in April, but her nomination still hasn’t been brought up for a vote.

After Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., announced in July that he planned to vote against Su, multiple media outlets reported that the White House planned to keep Su in her acting role without calling a vote.

Much of the opposition toward Su surrounds her tenure in California and her role in the implementation of Assembly Bill 5 – a controversial state law that makes it difficult for a worker to be classified as an independent contractor.

“We just need to continue to make the case about what she’s done in California, what a disaster it’s been for our state and what the impact would be if she were to take those policies national,” Kiley said in June.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, which represents small-business truckers, also opposes Su’s nomination.

OOIDA formally opposed the nomination in a letter sent to all Senate offices in March.

Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C. asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office to review the legality of Su continuing to lead the department without the votes needed for confirmation.

In September, the GAO determined that the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 does not apply to Su’s role as acting secretary.

“As the deputy secretary of labor, Ms. Su may serve as acting secretary … until a successor is appointed,” wrote Edda Emmanuelli Perez, general counsel for the GAO. “The Vacancies Act’s time limitations do not apply to her service.” LL