Dive Brief:

• President Joe Biden renominated Julie Su as labor secretary Monday, after her nomination last year stalled in the Senate.
• Su assumed the role of acting labor secretary last March, after former Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh stepped down to become executive director of the National Hockey League Players’ Association.
• Under Su’s leadership as acting head, the department has worked on rules regarding independent contractors, overtime and apprenticeships.

Dive Insight:

Biden first nominated Su to become the head of the department in late February, saying Su “has spent her life fighting to make sure that everyone has a fair shot, that no community is overlooked and that no worker is left behind.”

The nominee has faced opposition from Republicans and business interests, including the trucking industry, primarily due to her involvement with California’s AB5 labor law and the Labor Department’s new independent contractor rule, finalized this week.

“The coordinated release of this rule with the renomination of Julie Su to lead the Department of Labor is proof positive that the Administration is doubling down on destructive policies that eliminate choice and opportunity for our workforce,” ATA President and CEO Chris Spear said in a statement. 

“Had Su actually taken the time to talk to independent contractors, she’d know firsthand what a misguided rule this really is,” Spear added. “That is exactly why we opposed her nomination before and why we will continue to oppose it now. Radical California agendas have no place in federal policy. 

Su’s nomination has failed to make it through the U.S. Senate for 10 months, met largely by opposition from Republican lawmakers and business interest groups. Last June, 33 Republican senators sent an open letter to the president asking him to revoke Su’s nomination. 

U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Ca., chairman of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, said in a statement Monday that it’s “beyond belief” Biden renominated “his failed nominee.”

“The Senate rejected Julie Su as Labor Secretary on a bipartisan basis last year because of her gross mismanagement and anti-worker agenda,” Kiley said. 

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, released a statement Monday in support of Su’s renomination and urged colleagues to support her nomination. 

“Her strong pro-worker track record as Acting Secretary shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that she is the right person for the job,” Sanders said.