The Washington Post reported yesterday that Julie Su, President Biden’s nominee to replace Marty Walsh as secretary of labor, might not be confirmed by the Senate.
“Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) has expressed strong concerns to the White House about her, according to the person familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations,” the Post said. “If one more Democrat votes against her, or even misses the vote, there would not be enough support for her to be confirmed.”
We don’t yet know where Kyrsten Sinema (I., Ariz.), who caucuses with Democrats, stands on the nomination. Democrats with health issues, such as Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) and John Fetterman (Pa.), could miss a potential vote, in addition to any other number of reasons an individual senator might not be present at a given time.
Democrats have rarely been at full strength in the Senate so far this year. “In the 82 votes cast in the Senate so far this year, Democrats have had an advantage among voting members of at least two votes only 30 percent of the time,” writes Philip Bump in an analysis of attendance records. Republicans have missed plenty of votes as well, and no votes so far this year have had all 100 members cast a vote.
Republicans on the Senate committee overseeing the nomination demanded a meeting with Su, but she has not yet complied, Bloomberg Law reported. Su’s confirmation hearing is scheduled for April 20. “A decision to refuse a Committee interview would not instill confidence that you will be transparent or accountable as Secretary of Labor. Therefore, we ask that you make yourself available to committee staff when requested,” they said. Those senators include Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska). When Su was confirmed as deputy labor secretary in 2021, she received zero Republican votes.
The Senate would be right to reject Su. Her terrible record as California’s labor secretary, efforts to restrict independent contracting, and struggles to gain support from the 90 percent of American workers who aren’t unionized should be enough to send her packing.