President Joe Biden announced his intention to nominate Julie Su for the Secretary of the Department of Labor on Tuesday.
“It is my honor to nominate Julie Su to be our country’s next Secretary of Labor. Julie 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,” Biden said in a White House press release.
Labor Secretary Marty Walsh is leaving his post next month to take a job at the National Hockey League Players Association, CNN reports. Su currently serves as the deputy labor secretary.
The daughter of Chinese immigrants, Su earned her Bachelor’s degree at Stanford University and her law degree at Harvard University. She began her career as a litigator at a non-profit civil rights organization called the Asian-Pacific American Legal Center. Before she joined the Biden administration she served as the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency and the state’s labor commissioner.
“I look forward to continuing to work with Julie to build an economy that works for working people, and I respectfully ask the Senate to take up this nomination quickly so that we can finish the job for America’s workers,” Biden said in a press release.
Su is Biden’s first AAPI cabinet secretary nominee. For months, AAPI lawmakers have been calling for Biden to add Asian Americans to his senior administration. Su’s nomination has the endorsement of Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC). CAPAC’s chair, Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA)
“I am elated that President Biden is nominating Julie Su to be our nation’s next Labor Secretary. She’s eminently qualified to lead the Department and will successfully deliver results for our workers on Day 1,” Chu wrote in a tweet.
AsAmNews is published by the non-profit, Asian American Media Inc. Follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to support our efforts to produce diverse content about the AAPI communities. We are supported in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.
