Sanders to Hold Closed-Door Vote on Su as Labor Secretary

News February 26, 2024 at 06:01 PM
Share & Print

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

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., chairman of the Health Education Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, plans to hold a closed-door vote Tuesday to consider the nomination of Julie Su for Labor secretary.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., complained Monday that a closed-door vote means there will be "no public hearing" on Su's nomination.

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

In January, President Joe Biden renominated Su to serve as Labor secretary after her confirmation had languished in the Senate for more than 10 months.

Cassidy said Monday afternoon on the Senate floor that Sanders plans to hold a closed-door vote on Su after her first nomination "failed."

At the direction of Sanders, the HELP committee vote "is taking place behind closed doors without a public hearing or an opportunity to hear from Ms. Su directly," Cassidy said.

The HELP Committee is voting on Su's nomination "for the second time. Her first nomination failed and was returned to the White House after the Majority Leader declined to give her a vote on the Senate floor in the face of strong bipartisan opposition," Cassidy continued.

"It's important that we examine the many issues that have arisen" since Su's nomination hearing last year, Cassidy said, "and get an explanation over those serious concerns in her year of being an acting secretary."

Sanders denied a formal request from Cassidy to hold a public hearing on Su's nomination, Cassidy said.

Cassidy has previously complained that Su's nomination "has lasted for 176 days, the longest a cabinet-level nominee has waited for a floor vote when the same party controls the White House and the Senate."

He introduced in September the Advice and Consent Act to prevent the executive branch from circumventing Congress' constitutional duty to confirm the secretary of Labor who, he argued, does not have the votes to be confirmed.

The bill proposed to set a time limit of 210 days for Cabinet appointees to serve without Senate confirmation.

Julie Su. Credit: U.S. Department of Labor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Related Stories

Resource Center