President Biden’s nominee, Julie Su, to head the Department of Labor (DOL) is struggling. House Republicans hit her hard at an Education & the Workforce hearing on June 7, in hopes of persuading their Senate colleagues to deny her confirmation.

Su testified for enhanced DOL funding but faced tough questions about her activity as California’s labor secretary, especially with respect to worker classification (employee vs. independent contractor rules) and other union issues.

In the Senate, the Su nomination to be DOL Secretary is pending, but a vote to confirm her has not yet been scheduled. The delay is in part due to continuing uncertainty that Democrats will provide the votes needed for her confirmation. Most, if not all, Republican Senators have already announced their opposition to Su, although one or two (particularly Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) remain undecided. More troublesome are the three to five Democrats in the Senate who have not yet decided whether to support her nomination. One, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), appears to be leaning towards voting against her.

Prospects: Although Su is currently Acting Secretary of Labor, the agency appears at least partially hamstrung by the failure of the Senate to act on her confirmation as Secretary. There have been no regulations issued since former DOL Secretary Marty Walsh left the agency in March. And insiders think DOL is stalled on its plans to issue a new proposed fiduciary rule due largely to the vacancy at the top of the agency. And, DOL’s anticipated worker classification rule will not be released until October, a DOL spokesperson said. There is no timetable yet for a vote on Su’s nomination.

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