US Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh has announced that he is leaving the Biden administration. He has been offered the job as executive director of the NHL Players’ Association, which represents professional hockey players in Canada and the US. Walsh is the first agency head from President Joe Biden’s Cabinet to step down.
His exit will cost Biden not only a major ally to organized labor, but one of his top campaigners. In 2022 alone, Walsh traveled to 39 states to meet with workers and talk about the Biden administration’s agenda. The departure also leaves the agency without a permanent confirmed chief amid a contentious contract fight at West Coast ports that threatens to clog up US supply chains. The agency’s day-to-day policy work is expected to continue uninterrupted as Walsh vacates his office at the Frances Perkins Building. Deputy Secretary Julie Su is expected to become acting head of the agency, as set out under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act and is likely already familiar with most of the staff within the Office of the Secretary.
At least two other Cabinet members are also leaving—White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain is expected to depart soon, and the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, Cecilia Rouse, is expected to return to her teaching duties at Princeton University this spring. It’s unclear who would be an obvious replacement for Walsh. Biden could face pushback if Su were to lead DOL for too long, as many business lobbyists have raised concern that she could take the department in a more liberal direction based off of her work as California labor secretary.
