By a party-line vote, the nomination of Julie Su to be Secretary of the Department of Labor (DOL) has cleared committee and is now awaiting action by the full Senate. The Senate vote has not yet been scheduled. Several Democrats remain undecided, and so Su’s nomination is by no means assured.

The 11 to 10 committee vote pitted all the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee’s Republicans against Su, while all the Committee’s Democrats voted to support her nomination. However, there are at least three Democratic Senators who do not serve on the HELP Committee whose positions on her nomination have not yet been announced.

The DOL Secretary will have significant influence over DOL’s regulatory agenda. That agenda includes a number of issues of considerable importance to NAIFA members. Among them are the conflict of interest (fiduciary rule) regulation, and regulations defining who can work as an independent contractor as opposed to an employee (worker classification).

Prospects: Most Washington insiders believe that Su’s nomination is in trouble. It is possible that all three Democratic Senators (Joe Manchin from West Virginia, Kyrsten Sinema from Arizona, and Jon Tester from Montana) who have not yet committed to vote to confirm her will ultimately vote “aye” on her nomination. But these Senators have expressed concern about Su’s record, particularly with respect to worker classification and unionization issues. And there are many in the business community that are lobbying hard against her.

It is likely that the Administration (or Su herself) will withdraw her nomination rather than letting it go to a losing vote. However, Su will remain at the helm of the DOL in an acting capacity, until a replacement nominee is named and confirmed, or until she herself is confirmed.

NAIFA Staff Contacts: Jayne Fitzgerald – Director – Government Relations, at jfitzgerald@naifa.org; or Michael Hedge – Senior Director – Government Relations, at mhedge@naifa.org.