President Biden has announced Julie Su is his nominee for the next Labor Secretary.  If Su is confirmed, she will replace current Secretary, Marty Walsh, who recently announced he had accepted position as executive director of the NHL Players' Association, and will leave the department in mid-March. 

The Labor Secretary who is ultimately confirmed will take the reins of a US DOL that has an ever-growing list of "to dos" in the employee benefits sphere. The DOL been tasked with both creating and clarifying a host of retirement savings rules and regulations in response to the most sweeping retirement plan reform since 2006 (the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022).  

The new Labor Secretary will also inherit the legal challenges against its rule that environment, social and governance (ESG) investment vehicles can be included in retirement plans, like 401(k) plans. While Su has broad experience in labor-related matters, both at a Federal level and in California, only time will tell what impact she might have on retirement plan policy during this pivotal time.