Friday, May 3, 2024

Biden Taps California Official With Concerning Past To Lead Labor Dept.

-

Joe Biden has tapped to replace outgoing Labor Department Secretary .

“It is my honor to nominate Julie Su to be our country's next Secretary of Labor,” Biden said in a statement.

Democrats are turning a blind eye to her catastrophic resume…

Su has served as deputy secretary of labor since July 2021 and previously worked as secretary of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency. The senior official was responsible for overseeing billions in Covid-19 pandemic relief fraud.

According to a 2021 report from the San Fransisco Chronicle, Su indirectly oversaw the California Employment Development Department as one-tenth of the $114 billion in pandemic relief claims handled by the agency involved fraudulent activity. An additional 17% of the benefit payments were made to accounts that were frozen for an investigation; the total amount of fraud could have therefore surpassed $31 billion.

“There is no sugarcoating the reality,” Su told reporters in the wake of the revelations, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times.

However, instead of taking accountability, the California official blamed the state's “insufficient” security measures as well as the Trump administration, according to The Daily Wire.

“California has not had sufficient security measures in place to prevent this level of fraud, and criminals took advantage of the situation.”

It should be no surprise that EDD was overwhelmed, just like the rest of the nation's unemployment agencies,” she continued. “And we now know that as millions of Californians applied for help, international and national criminal rings were at work behind the scenes working relentlessly to steal unemployment benefits using sophisticated methods of identity theft.”

While announcing the nomination President Biden cited Su's experience as the Golden State's labor secretary.

“Over several decades, Julie has led the largest state labor department in the nation, cracked down on wage theft, fought to protect trafficked workers, increased the minimum wage, created good-paying, high-quality jobs, and established and enforced workplace safety standards.”

Senator praised Biden's nomination to reporters on Tuesday, signaling a quick nomination process.

Walsh is departing the Labor Department to lead the National Hockey League Players' Association.

His tenure was marked by rail unions threatening to enact a nationwide strike ahead of the midterm elections, and holiday season. The near-strike culminated in the Biden Admin. negotiating an agreement granting workers 24% pay raises and more robust health benefits.

Su would be the first Asian American member of the 's Cabinet if she is confirmed by the Senate.

This story is developing. Click refresh for the latest updates.

READ NEXT: San Francisco Reparations Plan Recommends $5 Million per Person

Nancy Jackson
Nancy Jackson
Nancy grew up in the South where her passion for politics first began. After getting her BA in journalism from Ole Miss she became an arts and culture writer for Athens Magazine where she enjoyed reporting on the eclectic music and art scene in Athens, GA. However, her desire to report on issues and policies impacting everyday Americans won out and she packed her bags for Washington, DC. Now, she splits her time between the Nation’s Capital and Philadelphia where she covers the fast-paced environment of politics, business, and news. In her off time, you can find Nancy exploring museums or enjoying brunch with friends.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Biden didn’t choose anyone. It’s Obama putting unqualified people in the government. Biden doesn’t even know her name. Schumer is a joke. He says anything to keep closer to Obama. He hates Biden.

Comments are closed.

Latest News