Biden selects Julie Su as head of the Labor Party, first Asian-American cabinet secretary

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Former California Secretary of Labor Julie Su could become the first Asian-American secretary in President Joe Biden’s cabinet.

The White House said on Tuesday that President Joe Biden will nominate Su for Secretary of Labor. Su is currently the Deputy Minister of Labor in his administration.

Labor Secretary Marty Walsh is resigning for a new position with the National Hockey League Players Association.

Su, the daughter of Chinese immigrants who speaks fluent Mandarin, spent seven years as the top union leader in California. She has been on the news frequently during the pandemic, talking about unemployment benefits.

It has also come under fire as the state delays some unemployment benefits while issuing billions in payments that are found to be fraudulent.

Biden praised Su as a worker advocate as she led the largest state department of labor in the US to fight wage theft while fighting to protect trafficked workers by raising the minimum wage and creating well-paying, high-quality jobs.

“Julie has spent her life fighting to make sure everyone has an equal chance so that no community is left out,” Biden said.

There are currently no Asian Americans holding secretary positions at the federal level, but there are three other Asians in the cabinet, including Vice President Kamala Harris, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, and White House Office of Science and Technology Director Arati Prabhakar . .

Su’s nomination will be debated in the US Senate prior to approval.

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