President-Elect Biden Picks Boston Mayor Marty Walsh As Labor Secretary

Boston mayor Marty Walsh has reportedly been selected to join President-elect Joe Biden's administration.

Walsh has been selected to serve as Labor secretary for the Biden administration, Politico reports.

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.

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.

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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