What should be a fierce confirmation battle is set to begin this week as President Joe Biden seeks to appoint Julie Su as his new labor secretary. Su, who previously served as deputy under departing Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, is scheduled to appear on Thursday in front of the Senate HELP Committee for a hearing on her nomination. Whether Su is confirmed or not will come down to just a vote or two. It’s going to be close.
“The dynamics surrounding Su’s nomination are straightforward and awfully familiar to those who followed the Cabinet battles early in the Biden administration,” Politico reported. “Republicans are in lockstep against Biden’s pick, meaning Democrats have to stick together to get it through.”
Su has already had a closely fought confirmation when she was nominated as deputy labor secretary. In July 2021, Su earned the votes of all 50 Democratic caucus members – but things have changed, and not everyone who voted for Su last time is guaranteed to vote for Su this time. Three former Su supporters are of particular concern.
Senators Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema, and Jon Tester – naturally. All are currently in an election cycle and currently withholding their support for Su. Manchin is expected to be the most stubborn of the three, telling Politico recently that “My vote for her last time was all predicated on Marty.”
“Put simply, Su faces a political minefield,” Politico wrote. “Republicans and their business-world allies have unleashed fierce attacks on Su’s record as California’s state labor chief. Democrats, meanwhile, argue she made the right enemies by moving aggressively on behalf of workers. But any weakness could give the politically vulnerable Dems an opening to spurn Su and create some distance from an unpopular president.”
Biden Mobilizing on Su’s Behalf
Biden’s White House is pushing hard to promote Su and inspire unity among Democrats. Specifically, the White House is working to underscore Su’s “relationships with the business community” and to circulate a new letter “from minority business groups endorsing Su.”
The White House’s primary message: If you voted for her before, there’s no good reason not to vote for her again. And the White House’s two sub-points: are that Su has proven herself as deputy secretary over the last two years, and that if you liked Marty Walsh, you’ll be pleased with Su, who plans to keep pushing similar policies.”
Su herself has been proactive, courting senators, offering to meet with each senator on the HELP committee. Senator Tim Kaine, for example, had a private meeting with Su. And afterwards, Kaine endorsed Su. “The job creation stats since the beginning of the Biden Administration have been very positive, and Julie has been there for all of it,” Kaine said.
But one single Democratic defection could derail Su’s confirmation. Someone like Joe Manchin, who Su is yet to sit down with, could provide that defection.
“That’s why it’s mystifying to some Hill watchers that Su, we’re told, has yet to meet with Manchin,” POLITICO reported.
“Nothing matters until he sits down with her,” someone close to Manchin told POLITICO. “A nominee like that, he’s going to be 50/50 until he sits down and meets with her. And then he’s going to call every labor person he’s close with.”
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Harrison Kass is the Senior Editor at 19FortyFive. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
