Biden world goes to the mat to get Julie Su confirmed

The Biden White House is ramping up its pressure on Senate Democrats to confirm Labor nominee Julie Su and deploying some big guns to get her nomination over the line.

Over the past two weeks, White House chief of staff Jeff Zients has placed calls to key senators who are considering her nomination, according to a White House official who asked not to be named to speak freely about the outreach. In recent days, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm have also joined the effort, calling moderate Democrats who have been noncommittal about supporting Su, according to three people familiar with the calls.

The effort comes as Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) returned to Washington last week, providing a potentially pivotal vote in support of the nomination.

In addition to his calls to senators, Zients has also coordinated with the labor unions who have strongly backed the nomination.

Su’s nomination to replace Marty Walsh as Labor secretary has hung in limbo for weeks, with several moderate Democrats keeping quiet about whether they would back her. With Republican opposition to the confirmation universal, the Biden administration has virtually no margin for error. The ability to confirm Su — the White House’s first attempt to replace a departed Cabinet official — will provide an early test of how much political juice Biden has as he gears up for reelection. It also is one of the first major congressional hurdles Zients faces in his new role.

The administration officials argue Su is highly qualified and from the same mold as Walsh. They’ve also pointed out her background as the daughter of Chinese immigrants.

Walsh, who stepped down from the post in February, has been working closely with Su, talking with moderate Democrats on the fence and helping shepherd outside support. He’s been telling lawmakers that he and Su were true partners at the Labor Department.

“We have a great policy agenda, and we have a great agenda moving forward, and she's going to continue the work that we've done for the last two years,” he said.

Walsh expressed frustration that Su has not yet been confirmed.

“It's disappointing because Julie is a good person, and she'll make a great secretary. I took the job as the mayor of Boston. Julie is far better prepared for this job than I was,” he said, citing her experience in California’s labor agency and in the federal government.

Su was confirmed as Walsh’s deputy secretary in 2021 with support of the full Senate Democratic caucus, which was then at 50 lawmakers. Su’s allies hoped the recent nature of that vote and the addition of one more Democratic senator would help ease the process for her confirmation to the secretary role. But it has not.

Moderate Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Mark Kelly of Arizona and Jon Tester of Montana have been publicly noncommittal about the nomination, as have Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and Angus King (I-Maine).

Other Capitol Hill Democrats are hopeful Kelly, Tester and King can be won over. If so, and Su has the support of every other Democrat, the focus will turn to Manchin and Sinema. Su can only afford to lose one of them.

Tester, Sinema and Manchin have each met with her.

Manchin’s vote may prove most elusive. The senator has grown more caustic to the Biden administration in recent months as he gears up for a possible reelection bid of his own or, potentially, a presidential run under a third-party banner. Last week, Manchin promised to oppose every EPA nominee over what he called the Biden administration’s government overreach to advance its “radical climate agenda.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has not yet scheduled a vote on Su.

“I’m talking to our caucus,” Schumer said late last month in his most recent public remarks about the nomination. “Julie Su is a great nominee and I’m very hopeful that she will pass.”

Republicans argue Su is a partisan who would be deferential to labor unions. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), the top Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, has chided Su for her role as secretary for the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. There, she oversaw implementation of the state law that granted employment status to gig workers and oversaw a troubled unemployment insurance program.

“I'm a little skeptical of the timing of this as we head towards reelection next year,” Walsh said. “That's not a reason not to have a strong Labor secretary.”

Since the nomination was announced in late February, labor unions have loudly backed Su. Last week, a group of 250 business leaders signed a letter in support of her nomination, building on early support from groups such as Small Business Majority and the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.