Senate GOP call on Biden to withdraw Labor nominee Julie Su

Senate Republicans are calling on President Biden to pull his nominee to head the Department of Labor, who has languished without a confirmation vote for a record-setting 126 days.

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee ranking member Bill Cassidy (R-La.) sent a letter to the president on Thursday that claimed Julie Su was unconstitutionally filling her role and her nomination should be removed.

Acting secretaries are able to serve no more than 210 days under the federal Vacancies Act before being confirmed, but Cassidy claimed a separate Labor Department rule was allowing Su to unlawfully serve “in perpetuity” and without Senate approval.

“If your administration believes Ms. Su cannot receive the necessary votes for confirmation, then you should rescind her nomination,” Cassidy said. “Any attempts to bypass the will of Congress, especially its constitutionally mandated advice and consent role, is unacceptable.” 

The battle over Su has stretched for more than four months, the longest a cabinet-level nominee has waited for confirmation when the same party controls both the Senate and White House.

On Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) highlighted Su’s record as labor secretary of California, where she oversaw as much as $31.4 billion in fraudulent unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Mr. President, American taxpayers have seen enough of Julie Su. When will Senate Democrats finally decide they have as well?” McConnell said on the Senate floor.

Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), McConnell, Cassidy and 30 other GOP senators claimed in a June 21 letter to Biden that Su instructed California Labor Department employees to hide undocumented workers from Immigration and Customs and Enforcement investigators.

“Her track record and unwillingness to provide clarity to her past positions and the actions she would take as Secretary of Labor continue to raise concerns about her nomination,” they wrote.

Su has come under more fire from Republican senators after one of her underlings said a visa program used by American farmers was rampant with “traffickers” and “wage theft.”

Biden, 80, has recently enlisted former Labor Secretary Tom Perez and Democratic adviser Gene Sperling to negotiate labor conflicts, implying a lack of faith in Su, according to Cassidy.

“The president sidelining Acting Secretary Julie Su does not demonstrate he has confidence in his own Labor nominee,” Ty Bofferding, the Republican spokesman for HELP Committee, told The Post. “We don’t need a labor secretary who has to outsource her own job.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) publicly opposed Su’s confirmation last week, and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) signaled her opposition as well.

“Joe Biden needs to face the facts on Julie Su and withdraw her nomination.” Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) told The Post. “She has unified opposition from Republicans, every small business in America, and now a few Senate Democrats. It’s clear that her nomination isn’t going anywhere, and the President is wasting his time trying to string along this unqualified nominee. He must nominate someone that will actually listen and understand all sides of business, workers, and who actually has a track record of success — unlike Ms. Su.”

Biden’s former labor secretary, Marty Walsh, resigned in February to become executive director of the National Hockey League Players’ Association.