President Biden on Tuesday nominated Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su to be his next secretary of Labor, potentially making her the first Asian American member of his Cabinet.

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Edited by| Tony Wild
WORLD section - CJ journalist
USA- Washington - 1 march 2023

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Su, a civil rights attorney and former head of California’s labor department, was central to negotiations between labor and freight rail companies late last year, working to avert an economically debilitating strike. She also has worked to broaden employee training programs and crack down on wage theft. If confirmed by the Senate, Su would also be the first Asian American in the Biden administration to serve in the Cabinet at the secretary level.

Su would replace Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, who left the administration to lead the National Hockey League Players’ Association. He was the first Cabinet secretary in the line of succession to leave his post since the start of the Biden administration.

Su, the former California labor secretary, was confirmed by the Senate to serve as deputy secretary of Labor in a vote along party lines in July 2021. In this Congress, Su faces a 51-49 Democratic-led Senate, though Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is receiving treatment for depression at Walter Reed Medical Center for what his office said would be the next few weeks.

The Biden administration is the first in more than 20 years not to have an Asian American Cabinet secretary, and Biden was under pressure to name Su to the post since the news emerged about Walsh’s resignation.
Biden, in a statement on Tuesday, called her a “champion for workers.”

“Julie is a tested and experienced leader, who will continue to build a stronger, more resilient, and more inclusive economy that provides Americans a fair return for their work and an equal chance to get ahead,” he said. “She helped avert a national rail shutdown, improved access to good jobs free from discrimination through my Good Jobs Initiative, and is ensuring that the jobs we create in critical sectors like semiconductor manufacturing, broadband, and healthcare are good-paying, stable and accessible jobs for all.”
Biden had been under pressure from the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and other Asian American and Pacific Islander advocates to select Su to head the department. This administration was the first in more than two decades to not have a Cabinet secretary of AAPI descent, despite its regular declarations that it was the most diverse in history. Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai are of AAPI descent but don’t lead a Cabinet department.