White House Moves On from Confirmation of Su

“The Biden administration is ready to move on from Julie Su’s nearly five-month confirmation battle, looking instead to indefinitely leave her in the role as acting Labor secretary,“ Politico reports.

“The decision comes after a White House official last week publicly urged two senators who caucus with the Democrats to reconsider their position on Su. Though the White House is keeping the door open for a change in circumstances, internally there is little expectation that Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) will reverse his public opposition or that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) — who has not publicly declared a position — will support Su, according to the two people familiar with the talks.”

“And so, the president and his team are set to move forward in defiance of the Senate confirmation process. It amounts to an implicit admission that the first Cabinet-level official to be replaced in the Biden administration lacks the votes.”