A Biden Nomination Is Looking Shaky

President Biden's choice to be the next labor secretary is running up against some tough math. All 49 Republicans plan to oppose Julie Su, reports Axios. And now Democrat Joe Manchin has told the White House he has strong concerns, per the Washington Post. That means Biden can't afford even a single additional defection (or a senator missing the vote) and independent Kyrsten Sinema also appears to be iffy. As Axios notes, Democratic senators who are vulnerable (Montana's Jon Tester is another) are looking to "create some political space" between themselves and Biden.

Su, a former labor commissioner of California who now serves as deputy US labor secretary, is backed by unions but has angered elements of the business community, notes the Post. In California, for example, she backed the treatment of gig workers as full-time employees against the wishes of small businesses. Reuters notes that a billboard in Tester's Montana warns that Su would turn the state into California, declaring, "Su's gig could be destroying your gig." Another billboard in Manchin's West Virginia warns that she "wants to turn the lights off." Meanwhile, her Senate committee confirmation hearing is scheduled for April 20. (More Julie Su stories.)