Acting Labor secretary: ‘I don’t have an intention of going anywhere’

Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su said Thursday she has no “intention of going anywhere” as her Senate confirmation is stuck in limbo more than six months after she was nominated by President Biden.

“I’m all in for doing it,” Su said in an interview with The Messenger. “I don’t have an intention of going anywhere.”

Su, who served as California labor secretary before joining the federal department in 2021, was nominated by Biden to lead it after former Labor Secretary Marty Walsh left the administration to lead the National Hockey League Players’ Association.

She sailed through the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on a party-line vote in April. However, her confirmation has stalled amid pushback from moderates, such as Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).

“While her credentials and qualifications are impressive, 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,” Manchin said in a statement in July.

The Biden administration has remained behind Su amid the drawn-out Senate confirmation process.

Politico reported in July that the administration was looking to leave the acting secretary in her role indefinitely under a Labor Department rule that allows a deputy to serve in an acting capacity without any specified time limit.

Vice President Harris made a point of declining to call Su “acting secretary” at an event last month.

“I call her Labor secretary. I’m not going to say the word ‘acting,’” Harris said. “I’ve known her for many years, and she is a true fighter for the working people and working families of America.”