Poor showings before Congress are becoming a hallmark of Biden administration appointees to high office.
In March, Biden’s FAA nominee could not answer simple questions about aviation. In January, Biden’s nominee to the Federal Bench could not answer simple questions on the Constitution. This week, Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su received a dressing down from several members of a congressional committee.
Congresswoman Virginia Foxx, representing North Carolina’s 5th District, began by rebuking Su for repeatedly refusing to respond to requests to testify before Congress:
Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) also reprimanded the acting labor secretary for deficiencies in combatting illegal immigrant child labor.
On threat of subpoena, Su agreed to testify before a congressional committee on Wednesday to discuss the Department of Labor’s budget and priorities for the coming fiscal year.
Rep. Banks took the opportunity to question Su on reports of immigrant children in the US working in dangerous industries in violation of child labor laws.
Citing a New York Times investigative report, Banks said: “Thousands of children have ended up in punishing jobs across the country, working in slaughterhouses and putting up roofs, among other occupations.”
Banks then asked: “Your administration has completely ignored it. What the heck are you doing about it?”
Su struggled to respond, prompting Banks to repeat: “Why are you ignoring this issue?”
Su replied, “The stories came out because the Department of Labor was doing our job.”
Unsatisfied with Su’s reply, Bank asked if the secretary’s department works with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on issues of illegal migrant child labor and safety issues.
Su responded that “an interagency task force had been created” to address this issue, but that interagency task force “doesn’t include the Department of Homeland Security.”
Banks pressed: “Is there a role here for ICE to work with your department to enforce child labor laws?”
The representative from Indiana followed up by presenting a memo Su wrote when she served as California’s top labor official. The memo instructed state agencies to refrain from working with ICE to enforce labor laws.
Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI) also sternly questioned Su — asking for clarification regarding protocol in cases where immigrant children are found working in dangerous conditions.
“When you find somebody, do you call their parents? … When somebody is being taken advantage of, I assume you’d call the parents,” he asked pointedly.
Su delayed in answering, then said, “That’s the responsibility of other agencies, but we do work together. Our task force includes the Department of Homeland Security.” However, that seemed to contradict her statement to Banks.
Grothman also pressed Su about comments she made in 2005: “We live in a society that is built on white supremacy and racial subordination.” Grothman allowed Su to recant the statement, which she refused.
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (WV) is reportedly holding up her nomination in the Senate due to concerns regarding her past comments.
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