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Julie Su. Credit: U.S. Department of Labor

Regulation and Compliance > Federal Regulation > DOL

Biden Renews Push to Make Julie Su Labor Secretary

By Allison Bell

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President Joe Biden is continuing efforts to get Julie Su confirmed as the secretary of the Labor Department.

Su has been deputy secretary of Labor since July 2021 and the acting Labor secretary since March 2023.

Members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted 11-10 to support her nomination in April 2023, but the Biden administration was unable to get the nomination to the Senate floor.

What it means: The Labor Department oversees the Employee Benefits Security Administration, the agency in charge of administering the investment fiduciary provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

Sue’s renomination means that the Senate will have a new chance to hold hearings on an official who has played a critical role in DOL efforts to impose a fiduciary standard on rollovers of retirement account assets into annuities and cash-value life insurance policies.

Julie Su: Su was born in Wisconsin and grew up in California. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Stanford and a law degree from Harvard.

While in California, she served as head of the California Division of Labor Standards and the secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency.

She was a strong supporter of the California Assembly Bill 5 effort to get companies to treat many individuals, such as actors, insurance agents and rideshare drivers, who had been classified as independent contractors, as employees for health insurance purposes and other purposes.

The Senate fight: The Democrats and lawmakers who caucus with the Democrats hold 50 seats in the Senate, and Vice President Kamala Harris can vote to break ties.

Republicans have opposed Su’s nomination because of concerns about her support for California Assembly Bill 5.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced in July 2023 that he would oppose Su’s confirmation because he believes she is too progressive and unable to forge compromises.

In September, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., introduced the Advice and Consent Act bill, a measure that could have set a 210-day limit on the ability of acting Cabinet secretary appointees to serve without Senate confirmation.

Julie Su. Credit: U.S. Department of Labor

Allison Bell

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