Current:Home > NewsActing Labor Secretary Julie Su vows to remain in job even as confirmation prospects remain dim — "The Takeout" -Finovate
Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su vows to remain in job even as confirmation prospects remain dim — "The Takeout"
View
Date:2025-04-18 04:01:44
Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su is still waiting to be confirmed as labor secretary over a year after President Joe Biden first nominated her, and she remains hopeful that she'll be confirmed, despite opposition that shows no sign of softening.
On "The Takeout" podcast this week, Su told chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett she has no plans to withdraw and remains "really honored by his support."
"When I went through the nomination, the confirmation process, I met with a lot of senators and … I have great respect for the process, for their role." She added, "We'll continue to remain hopeful while also remaining focused on the job that needs to be done."
"I'm going to do this job for as long as the president wants me to do it and as long as the American people need somebody who's going to fight for working people," Su said.
Su, who was previously deputy labor secretary, was tapped for the top job after Secretary Marty Walsh stepped down to head the NHL Player Association. Her nomination was advanced by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee but was unable to muster the votes to pass the full Senate, so she remained acting secretary. In 2022, Su was confirmed as deputy labor secretary in a close vote.
Senate Republicans and West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin say they'll continue to oppose her nomination for a couple of reasons, but the most prominent one is that when she was California's labor commissioner, she oversaw the payment of $31 billion in fraudulent unemployment claims during the pandemic.
Su said Covid exposed flaws within California's unemployment insurance system.
"The U.I. (unemployment insurance) system was like a house with a leaky roof," Su said. "In good times, you could put a couple buckets under it and mostly ignore it. But in a storm…all of its weaknesses get revealed."
Other opponents of Su's nomination, particularly business groups, have pointed to her embrace of California legislation that limited independent contracting and extended certain protections to gig workers — including minimum wage, overtime, and healthcare.
"I do not apologize for making sure that employees who deserve protections and the right to organize [are] covered under employee status," Su told Garrett.
But Su's advocates counter that she has helped resolve sticky labor issues, including averting an economically debilitating freight rail strike in 2022 and negotiating a major deal between West Coast dockworkers and shippers this past June.
"It has been a privilege to see the kinds of win-win solutions that can come through collective bargaining," said Su.
Though there's been no sign that any of those opposing her have changed their minds, she told chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett that she remains hopeful she'll be confirmed and appreciates the support she's received from "a lot" of senators.
Asked by Garrett if she's made any headway with Manchin, Su said that she said "hi" to him at the State of the Union address last week, but that was about all she had time for. The West Virginia senator, who is retiring at the end of his term early next year, said last summer that he would still vote against Su.
"I think the American people need a strong labor secretary, and I plan on continuing to do that for as long as I can," Su said.
In her interview with "The Takeout," Su also touted the job numbers during the Biden administration, pointing to the 14.9 million jobs created since Mr. Biden took office, as well as an unemployment rate of under 4% for the past two years. Economic analysts predictions of an impending recession during the last couple of years have not come to pass, and Su credits the Biden administration for this.
"I think we are now, you know, safely in a place of saying that the economic policies worked," Su told Garrett.
Executive producer: Arden Farhi
Producers: Jamie Benson, Jacob Rosen, Sara Cook and Eleanor Watson
CBSN Production: Eric Soussanin
Show email: [email protected]
Twitter: @TakeoutPodcast
Instagram: @TakeoutPodcast
Facebook: Facebook.com/TakeoutPodcast
veryGood! (1235)
Related
- Don't let hackers fool you with a 'scam
- Hurry Up & Shop Vince Camuto’s Shoe Sale With an Extra 50% Off Boots and Booties
- As the auto industry pivots to EVs, product tester Consumer Reports learns to adjust
- Elementary school teacher fired over side gig as online sex coach in Austria
- Appeals court scraps Nasdaq boardroom diversity rules in latest DEI setback
- Iowa’s sparsely populated northwest is a key GOP caucus battleground for both Trump and DeSantis
- Scientists to deliver a warning about nuclear war with Doomsday Clock 2024 announcement
- He says he's not campaigning, so what is Joe Manchin doing in New Hampshire?
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- Browns QB Joe Flacco unravels in NFL playoff rout as Texans return two interceptions for TDs
Ranking
- Who are the most valuable sports franchises? Forbes releases new list of top 50 teams
- NTSB investigating 2 Brightline high speed train crashes that killed 3 people in Florida this week
- Wildfire prevention and helping Maui recover from flames top the agenda for Hawaii lawmakers
- Colorado spoils Bronny James' first start with fierce comeback against USC
- Global Warming Set the Stage for Los Angeles Fires
- Friends scripts that were thrown in the garbage decades ago in London now up for auction
- From Best Buy to sex videos, a now-fired university chancellor shares the backstory
- Fire from Lebanon kills 2 Israeli civilians as the Israel-Hamas war rages for 100th day
Recommendation
FACT FOCUS: Inspector general’s Jan. 6 report misrepresented as proof of FBI setup
Chiefs vs. Dolphins highlights: How Kansas City shut down Miami to win frigid wild-card game
As shutdown looms, congressional leaders ready stopgap bill to extend government funding to March
Are banks, post offices, FedEx, UPS open on MLK Day 2024? Is mail delivered? What to know
Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
NFL schedule today: Everything to know about playoff games on Jan. 13
How 'The Book of Clarence' gives a brutal scene from the Bible new resonance (spoilers)
John Kerry to step down after 3 years as Biden's top climate diplomat