Senate votes down Biden’s long-stalled Labor Department nominee

The Senate on Tuesday voted against advancing President Joe Biden’s nominee for a top Labor Department position.

The motion to advance Jose Javier Rodriguez’s nomination as assistant secretary of labor failed 44-51, the result of two Democrats voting no and four Democrats being absent. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) switched his vote to no at the close of the vote, a procedural move that allows him to bring a motion to reconsider on the nomination.

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The majority leader has not said if or when he plans to bring Rodriguez’s nomination back up for a vote.

Should he try again, he’ll need all members in attendance on the day of the vote and for one of the two previous no’s to switch to yes. If neither of those no votes, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ), are willing to budge, Vice President Kamala Harris will be called in to use her tiebreaking vote to push the nomination over the finish line.

Democrats control the Senate 51-49, meaning the party cannot afford more than two defections.

Not in attendance for Tuesday’s vote were Sens. John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), and Raphael Warnock (D-GA). Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) also missed the vote. Ossoff and Warnock were in their home state for the late first lady Rosalynn Carter’s memorial service.

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Rodriguez’s nomination, which would have him lead the Labor Department’s Employment and Training Administration, has been in the works for over two years. Biden first nominated Rodriguez, a workers rights attorney and former Florida state senator, to the post in July 2021.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee was deadlocked on advancing his nomination that year when the Senate was split 50-50 and committees were evenly divided. The stalemate caused Rodriguez’s nomination to expire, forcing Biden to renominate him to the position in 2023.