This story was updated on April 26 to reflect the Senate HELP Committee vote on Su's nomination. 

Rancor over the Biden Administration nomination of Julie Su, U.S. Labor Dept. deputy and former California Labor Secretary, to fill the federal agency's top spot permanently, continues to intensify as the Senate gears up to vote on her nomination.

At an April 20 Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing, that rancor was evident as lawmakers either questioned her record or defended her against what they characterized as an orchestrated campaign against her. President Joe Biden nominated Su, in DOL's number two spot for the past two years, to replace Marty Walsh who announced his plans to leave the agency in late February. 

Although the committee approved her nomination by a partisan 11-10 vote on April 26, Su’s nomination could be in trouble, as almost all Republicans have said they are opposed, while some Democrats or independents such as Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) are staying mum about whether they will vote for her. 

In recent weeks, more than 30 business-oriented groups signed on to a letter urging lawmakers on the Senate HELP Committee to reject Su's nomination, while organized labor announced it has launched an aggressive advertising campaign of its own as a counterpoint. 

“We are going to use every vehicle at our disposal against these baseless corporate attacks,” said Liz Shuler, AFL-CIO president, at an April 19 press briefing. “Julie has shown us, again and again, whose side she is on.”

Committee Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), said in his opening statement, “No one can tell us with a straight face that Ms. Su is unqualified for this position … She is extremely well qualified. This debate really has everything to do with the fact that Julie Su is a champion of the working class of this country, who will stand up against the forces of corporate greed.”

But Republicans on the committee voiced reservations about Su’s nomination that rise above typical political differences. 

“We need a labor secretary who is fair and unbiased when enforcing the nation's labor laws, who should be a leader who is responsible, experienced and skilled—not an activist—with a demonstrated record of competence as an administrator, and a demonstrated record of successfully completing concluding labor negotiations,” ranking member Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said.

Several GOP members on the committee questioned her support of unpopular independent contractor regulations enacted in California. Su replied that her department wrote the California regulations because the state legislature passed legislation that required it to do so. “I will commit with absolute certainty and commitment that I will always have full faith and fidelity to federal law,” she said. 

Ben Brubeck, vice president of regulatory, labor and state affairs at the Associated Builders and Contractors, one of the 32 groups that signed the coalition letter opposing Su’s nomination, said that a top priority of both the administration and organized labor is the PRO Act, which in the last session of Congress included a provision very similar to the independent contractor regulations enacted in California. “I don’t know how she phrased [her response], but … I wouldn’t buy [it],” he said, adding that there is nothing that would preclude her from supporting an independent contractor provision in future federal legislation.  

Su’s detractors also raised the issue of $31 billion lost to COVID-related unemployment fraud in California. 

However, Connecticut Democrat Christopher Murphy noted that several other states lost an even higher percentage to COVID unemployment fraud, and that Su acted quickly to put safeguards in place once she became aware it was happening. Similar safeguards were later enacted at the federal level by the Trump administration, he added.