GOP Reps. Kevin Kiley (Calif.) and Virginia Foxx (N.C.) on Thursday introduced legislation to ensure that the role of Acting Secretary of Labor is a temporary position.
"Having made the worst possible pick for Labor Secretary, which the Senate is rightly rejecting, the President is trying to install his nominee anyways," Kiley said of Julie Su, the nominee picked by President Joe Biden in March to lead the U.S. Department of Labor.
"Su faces bipartisan congressional opposition over losing $32.6 billion in taxpayer funds to fraud and for championing policies that destroyed the livelihoods of tens of thousands of independent workers. Our legislation will prevent Su from indefinitely serving in defiance of Congress and taking her record of failure in California nationwide."
Kiley, who served in the California legislature for six years before joining the House of Representatives in 2023, has been critical of Su since before Biden's nomination — Su served as California labor commissioner.
Su doesn't currently have enough votes to be confirmed in the Senate, but Biden plans to keep her in the role as acting secretary.
"Because Acting Secretary Su has been nominated, there is no clock on how long she can serve," a Labor Department spokesperson told Axios earlier this month. "Because she was already deputy secretary, she is serving under Section 552 of Title 29 of the U.S. Code."
"Her correct title is acting secretary of labor," the spokesperson said.
In a press release sent to Newsmax, Foxx said Su's pathway to confirmation "has stalled."
"For the sake of job creators and working Americans, Biden must pull Su," she wrote.
"Instead, he has stretched the law to bypass a Senate confirmation process. Par for the course for a president accustomed to flouting the law to get his way. I am pleased to support Rep. Kiley's bill to clarify federal law, putting an end to this administration's efforts to skirt the law at the expense of workers and job creators."
H.R. 4957, the Department of Labor Succession Act, clarifies federal law to ensure that the tenure of an Acting Secretary of Labor aligns with the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 (Vacancies Act). On July 20, Su became the longest serving cabinet member.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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