Biden renominates Julie Su for labor secretary after Senate declined to confirm her for ten months

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House announced Monday that President Joe Biden has renominated Julie Su to serve as labor secretary as her confirmation has languished in the Senate for more than 10 months.

The decision to renominate Su, who has served as acting labor secretary since Marty Walsh vacated the role last February, was widely expected.

Su’s nomination cleared a key Senate committee in April, but with no Republicans on record supporting her, the Biden administration and her backers have scrambled to lock down 50 Democratic votes needed to confirm her. Wavering senators say that she had minimal experience in negotiations between workers and management, and point to perceptions that she’s anti-business.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., applauded Biden for sticking with Su and argued she’s more than proved her acumen since taking on the job in the acting role and earlier as deputy labor secretary earlier in the Democratic administration.

Su last year was involved in helping negotiate a labor deal between West Coast dockworkers. Su, a civil rights attorney and former head of California’s labor department, was also central to negotiations between labor and freight rail companies in 2022, working to avert an economically debilitating strike. She also has worked to broaden employee training programs and crack down on wage theft.

“Whether working to strengthen apprenticeship programs or helping to negotiate agreements in industries from rails to ports to auto companies, Julie Su is advancing workers’ rights and getting the job done,” Duckworth said in a statement.