Labor nominee Su faces doubts
Moderate Democrats on Senate panel yet to say if they will approve her for the top position
WASHINGTON >> President Joe Biden's nominee for labor secretary, Julie Su, won praise at her Senate hearing Thursday as “a champion of the working class” even as some key Democrats were unwilling to voice support, creating uncertainty about her confirmation prospects.
A handful of moderate Democrats did not publicly state whether they would vote for Su's nomination ahead of Thursday's confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Biden in February picked Su, a civil rights attorney and the deputy labor secretary, to replace Marty Walsh, the former mayor of Boston, to lead the Department of Labor.
The daughter of an immigrant mother who arrived on a cargo ship, Su would be the Biden administration's first Asian American to serve in the Cabinet at the secretary level. Biden last month called her proof of the “American dream” and said “she's committed to making sure that dream is in reach for every American.”
Su tapped into that spirit in her testimony, recounting how her parents were able to claw their way into the middle class through jobs that provided benefits as well as becoming entrepreneurs.
“When he announced my nomination for U.S Secretary of Labor, the president called me `the American Dream.' My parents believed in it, I benefited from it and I want to do my part to make sure it is a reality for workers across the nation,” Su said.
She was previously confirmed as the deputy labor secretary, but has faced opposition from business groups critical of her record leading California's labor department. They point to her support of an overturned California law that would have required app-based
Julie Su speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing for her to be the Labor Secretary on Capitol Hill on Thursday in Washington.
ALEX BRANDON — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ride hailing and delivery companies like Uber and Lyft, as well as trucking businesses, to treat their workers as employees, providing benefits like paid sick leave and unemployment insurance, rather than independent contractors.
Su also has faced blame for problems at the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency during the coronavirus pandemic when unprecedented numbers of people applying for unemployment benefits faced long wait times and the state paid billions of dollars in fraudulent claims.
Industry groups have launched billboard and digital ads against Su in West Virginia, Montana and Arizona, while unions have assembled to support Su.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, the committee's chair, voiced support as he opened Thursday's hearing, saying the debate over Su “has nothing to do with her qualifications.”
“This debate really has everything to do with the fact that Julie Su is a champion of the working class of this country who will stand up against the forces of corporate greed,” he said.
But Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin, Jon Tester and Mark Kelly and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent, all declined to say whether they would vote for her confirmation. Democrats cannot afford to lose more than a couple votes in a Senate divided 5149. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., also is recovering from shingles in California, with no firm return date.
Manchin repeatedly declined to comment on Su's nomination this week; Tester said he would meet with her after the meeting to “make sure she's still right;” Kelly said he didn't have concerns about her record but said he does not preview his votes; Sinema said through a spokeswoman that she does not preview votes.
Su was confirmed by the Senate to her current role in 2021 by a 50-47 vote.