By an 11-10 vote, Labor Secretary nominee Julie Su barely garnered the approval of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, but her chances of success before the full Senate remain unknown.

Recently, we reported that a number of Republican members of the Committee had questioned whether she was qualified for the position. During questioning by the Committee, Su plainly stated that she has no intention of advocating for the employee-friendly “ABC” test for determining independent contractor status. Nevertheless, her time as California’s Labor Secretary – where she enforced such a test – has some Republican Senators and business owners concerned. Notably, neither Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) nor former Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-NV) have declared whether they will support Su’s nomination, and failure to obtain their votes will hamper her chances of approval.

Su now waits alongside Jessica Looman, Biden’s nominee as head of the Wage and Hour Division of the DOL, for the full Senate to vote on her nomination.