Joe Biden’s Acting Secretary of Labor, Julie Su, may have gotten herself into some hot water.
The House Education and Workforce Committee has just subpoenaed her to come in for a hearing to discuss an event that Republicans believe was political in nature.
In September 2022, the Department of Labor held the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) “Workers’ Voice Summit.”
The summit was touted as an event that would be “focused on trends affecting workers and the need to foster open dialogue to identify workplace problems and find solutions.”
Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) believes the event was more akin to a political rally, however.
Since Foxx has been unable to get the answers she wants, Foxx has subpoenaed Acting Secretary Lu, adding a statement:
“The Committee is asking for simple answers from OSHA and Acting Secretary Su. The fact that the Committee must issue a subpoena to compel the agency to do its job and be forthcoming is outrageous.
“That kind of behavior may fly in the Biden administration but not here. Every taxpayer dollar must be accounted for and used appropriately, and we will not rest until our questions are sufficiently answered.”
The Department of Labor acted stunned when the subpoena was issued, responding:
“We are baffled as to why the Committee has opted to issue a subpoena over an event that was publicized by the Department and covered by press outlets and participating organizations, including in summaries and blog posts on the Department’s official webpage.
“Far from being a ‘political rally,’ this event offered OSHA – the agency responsible for worker health and safety – an opportunity to hear from workers about health and safety issues.”
I can fully understand why Foxx went the route of a subpoena, and that is simply because this administration has bobbed and weaved like a boxer when asked for information from various House committees.
If the event was not akin to a political rally, surely they have a recording of the event, which could then be supplied for review.
If that is not the case, then Lu would have to sit in that hot seat and answer Foxx’s question as well as other committee members interested in knowing what really happened at the event.
This is far from the first time this administration has been accused of using taxpayer dollars to fund what amount to be campaign events.
The most notorious of these was the barnstorming tour by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg prior to the 2022 election to key battleground states.
