Biden should drop Julie Su, another California failure, immediately
President Joe Biden plans to keep former California Labor Secretary Julie Su in charge of the United States Labor Department despite resistance from the Democrat-run Senate, according to recent reporting from Politico.
Biden nominated Su back in February to head the Labor Department following the resignation of Labor Secretary Marty Walsh.
Su’s nomination has been stalled ever since despite Democratic control of the Senate. Some more moderate Democrats, including Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, have expressed concerns about Su’s ability to lead the department.
And yet the Biden administration has reportedly decided to leave Su as acting labor secretary indefinitely instead of pulling Su’s nomination and finding someone more qualified and capable.
The Biden administration’s sudden disinterest in Senate confirmation no doubt follows news that at least one prominent Democrat would oppose Su’s nomination.
Two weeks ago, Manchin made clear he would vote against Su’s confirmation, issuing a statement explaining, “I have genuine concerns that Julie Su’s more progressive background prevents her from doing this and for that reason I cannot support her nomination to serve as Secretary of Labor.”
Indeed, even a cursory review of Su’s background shows she should not be anywhere near public office. As California labor secretary, she oversaw tens of billions of dollars in fraudulent unemployment insurance payments through the Employment Development Department.
That scandal prompted Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, to pointedly tell Su during a hearing of her nomination, “The idea of promoting a person who’s had that experience to a position of leadership of the entire Department of Labor makes no sense at all.”
Romney is correct. It makes no sense for Julie Su to head the U.S. Labor Department after her disastrous record in California.
President Biden, for whatever reason, has chosen to commit himself to poorly qualified and inept Californians — from gaffe machine Kamala Harris to scandal-plagued Eric Garcetti to the bumbling Xavier Becerra.
Becerra, who is serving as health and human services secretary, was the subject of intense criticism from officials in the Biden administration. “White House officials have grown so frustrated with top health official Xavier Becerra as the pandemic rages on that they have openly mused about who might be better in the job,” reported the Washington Post last year.
Former Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti, who is now U.S. ambassador to India, had his nomination on hold for two years as corruption investigations ravaged the city of Los Angeles and evidence mounted he “knew or should have known” his top aide was engaged in alleged sexual misconduct.
And then there’s Kamala Harris, who Biden selected for demographic reasons and not for her actual political skills or policy chops. Harris, who has set records for her unpopularity, has floundered in the low-expectations role of vice president.
Clearly, President Biden has a knack for picking low-quality California Democratic officials and helping them fail up. Julie Su is just the latest of the bunch.