Republican Congressman Kevin Kiley is flying the “W” for himself and for independent professionals and small businesses across the nation. After 281 days of inaction, Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su’s nomination to Secretary of Labor did not reach the Senate floor for a vote. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer finally sent Su’s nomination back to President Joe Biden. As RedState has reported here, here, and here, there was zero chance Su would have been confirmed.
Acting labor secretary Julie Su’s nomination was returned to the White House on Wednesday as the Senate gaveled out the first session of the 118th Congress, forcing President Biden to re-nominate her in the new year.
“We need a qualified Secretary of Labor who can impartially enforce the law, properly manage a department, and refrain from partisan activism. Ms. Su failed to show her ability to do any of those three things,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) in a statement.
“It is clear Ms. Su lacks the necessary votes for confirmation. I urge President Biden to put forward a nominee who is committed to fair enforcement of our nation’s labor laws and is capable of being confirmed in the Senate.”
Clear as crystal. There’s no lipstick that will dress up this pig: it is a staggering failure for the Biden White House, and especially for Julie Su, although by this point, Su should be used to it. In typical Biden Administration fashion, Su tried to gaslight and took a victory lap.
Totally on-brand.
I'm proud of all we accomplished at @USDOL in 2023.
— Acting Secretary Julie Su (@ActSecJulieSu) December 21, 2023
From empowering workers as they fight for their fair share, to establishing new rules that help put workers on the path to good jobs, we can confidently say we're excited for all the new opportunities to help workers in 2024. pic.twitter.com/lD7l4PLwtd
As Chairman of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, Kiley led the charge to ensure Su’s nomination would indeed fail. Kiley was supported by his former California Assembly colleagues, who experienced Su’s incompetence firsthand when she was California’s Secretary of Labor and oversaw the Employment Development Department’s descent into billions of fraudulent claims during the pandemic. Kiley was also backed by groups like the California Business and Industrial Alliance (CABIA), OOIDA Truckers Association, and the International Franchise Association, who all demanded that Su’s nomination be withdrawn.
On Thursday, Kiley issued this statement:
“Acting Secretary Julie Su’s nomination has lasted 281 days, the longest a cabinet-level nominee has waited without a floor vote when the same party controls the White House and the Senate. During her tenure as Acting Labor Secretary, Su refused to answer whether AB 5 was a good law, even though she championed and aggressively enforced the law during her tenure in California. President Biden knows Julie Su will never be confirmed, and if Ms. Su remains in power as an unconfirmed Acting Secretary, every action of the Labor Department is under a legal cloud. It is high past time for President Biden to withdraw this failed nomination and choose a qualified Secretary who will perform his or her duties competently and will be on the side of American workers,” said Rep. Kiley.
Despite 2024 being an election year and Biden’s unfavorable and flagging poll numbers, the president still plans to double down on failure and resubmit Su’s nomination to Secretary of Labor. As we have stated before, cabinet appointees being incompetent is a feature, not a bug.
White House says it plans to send renomination papers for the roughly 50 noms the Senate failed to move this year, including Acting Labor Sec Julie Su, back to the Hill on January 8… which coincidentally is my wife's 30th birthday
— Christian Datoc (@TocRadio) December 21, 2023
Biden is sending a clear message to the over 54 million independent contractors, self-employed, and small businesses that their freedom to work as they please and their economic viability do not matter, especially if they refuse to be folded into Big Labor’s worker ghettos.
When unions organize and negotiate, they:
— Acting Secretary Julie Su (@ActSecJulieSu) December 20, 2023
✅ Improve wages and benefits
✅ Help create new standards for all workers
✅ Raise the bar for employers to meet workers' needshttps://t.co/mcb2LsKwBY
In the meantime, expect more battles, revisions, and end-runs by Acting Secretary Su to the Department of Labor Rules. If the administration still has the bandwidth, we can look forward to another time-consuming confirmation process where Su will once again lie and obfuscate about her record of failure. The only way to end this merry-go-round and preserve the rights of independent professionals to maintain that independence and vocational freedom is to ensure there is a change in the executive branch. Independent professionals, as well as most Americans, must make the choice for their economic survival and vote accordingly.
