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September 07, 2023 at 10:39 AM
What You Need to Know
- Sen. Cassidy maintains that the Biden administration is attempting to circumvent Congress and the Constitution to keep Julie Su as acting secretary indefinitely.
- The proposed bill would prevent Su and future nominees from serving longer than 210 days without confirmation.
Legislation introduced late Wednesday would set a time limit of 210 days for Cabinet appointees to serve without Senate confirmation.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said he introduced the bill, the Advice and Consent Act, to prevent the executive branch from circumventing Congress’ constitutional duty to confirm the secretary of Labor who, he argued, does not have the votes to be confirmed.
Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su’s nomination “has lasted for 176 days, the longest a cabinet-level nominee has waited for a floor vote when the same party controls the White House and the Senate,” Cassidy said in a statement.
The Advice and Consent Act “prevents further political abuses of the Constitution and ensures all nominees for Secretary of Labor receive the full advice and consent of the Senate,” said Cassidy, ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee.
Su is serving as acting Labor secretary under the department’s succession statute, “which the Biden administration claims allows her to serve as Acting Secretary in perpetuity even if she does not have votes for Senate confirmation,” Cassidy continued.
In contrast, Cassidy said, “the Federal Vacancies Reform Act creates ‘a clear and exclusive process to govern the performance of duties of offices in the Executive Branch’ and sets a time limit of 210 days that an individual can perform the role of a cabinet-level position” without Senate confirmation.
