President-Elect Joe Biden is reportedly scheduled to formally introduce Boston mayor Marty Walsh as his administration's labor secretary nominee on Friday (January 8) afternoon.
Mayor Walsh will join President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris during an appearance in Wilmington, Delaware at 1:30 p.m., will be streaming live on CBS Boston's website.
On Thursday (January 7), Walsh was reported to have been selected as the labor secretary for the Biden administration by Politico, which was later confirmed by the Biden-Harris "Transition 46" social media accounts.
If confirmed, Walsh, who previously served as the Laborers' Union Local 223 president, will become the first union member to be secretary of labor in nearly 50 years.
On Thursday, Mayor Walsh shared the following in response to reports of his nomination via Twitter:
"Working people, labor unions, and those fighting every day for their shot at the middle class are the backbone of our economy and of this country. As Secretary of Labor, I’ll work just as hard for you as you do for your families and livelihoods. You have my word.
Politico initially reported Biden was "definitely" interested in Mayor Walsh, who previously served as the Laborers' Union Local 223 president, for the position in December, but others within the Democratic party were pushing to nominate an Asian American or Pacific Islander candidate instead.
The Boston mayor was reportedly chosen over several possible candidates including Michigan Rep. Andy Levin, former Deputy Labor Secretary Seth Harris, California Labor Secretary Julie Su and AFL-CIO Chief Economist Bill Spriggs.
Boston city councilor and mayoral candidate Michelle Wu issued the following statement to CBS Boston regarding Walsh's reported appointment to U.S. labor secretary:
“Congratulations to Mayor Marty Walsh on his nomination as Labor Secretary for the Biden Administration. He will be the first union member to serve in this role in nearly 50 years, and his leadership will come at a critical time for the labor movement. Thereis much work to do to clean up the backwards, anti-worker policies of the Trump administration that have hurt so many here in our city, and Boston needs a partner to fight for working families at the federal level.”
Walsh, who has long been a supporter of President-elect Biden, addressed the rumors regarding the position on Tuesday (January 5.)
“What I’ve been focused on quite honestly in the last nine months, in particular the last five days, is focusing on COVID-19 in the city of Boston,” Walsh said via CBS Boston. “I’m going to stay focused on that.”
Walsh is up for re-election as Boston's mayor in 2021, but had not previously confirmed he would be running. However, the mayor did say he would focus on the city's ongoing surge in COVID-19 cases amid the ongoing pandemic after announcing Boston would continue to pause its reopening plan for at least three more weeks.
“I am focused on getting these numbers down. I’m focused on getting Boston through the pandemic,” Walsh said. “I love being Mayor of Boston.”
The Biden administration already has multiple ties to the state of Bay State, which includes Massachusetts native Jen O'Malley Dillon, who will serve as deputy chief of staff, as well as Massachusetts General Hospital chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Harvard Medical school professor Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who will lead the administration's COVID-19 response.
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