Biden Picks California’s Julie Su for Deputy Labor Secretary (1)

California Labor Secretary Julie Su is President Joe Biden’s nominee to serve as second-in-command at the U.S. Labor Department, the White House announced Wednesday.

Progressive organizations and Asian-American lawmakers had promoted the veteran civil rights and employment attorney for the top DOL job, but Biden instead selected Su to serve as deputy labor secretary alongside Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, the nominee for U.S. labor secretary.

Su’s path to winning approval in the Senate will intersect with mounting criticism of her role in overseeing a California agency responsible for paying out at least $11 billion in fraudulent jobless benefits claims. ...