Weil previously served in that role during the Obama administration from 2014 to 2017 and was criticized by conservative groups for policies he pursued at the time, which argued that harming small businesses, such as pressure to label independent contractors. as employees. Private groups urged moderate Democrats to vote against Weil’s appointment. A Sinema spokesman said the senator had reconsidered his candidacy and was “concerned” without giving further details. “As promised to the people of Arizona, Kyrsten evaluates all candidates based on three criteria: whether they are professional or not, they believe in the mission of their services and can be trusted to perform faithfully and abide by the law,” he said. representative. “When considering Mr Weil’s candidacy, he has concerns about his ability to enforce and abide by the law.” Mancin and Kelly did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNN. Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, chairwoman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, expressed frustration in a statement after the failed appointment. “I’m incredibly disappointed to see Dr. Weil, a highly qualified candidate with a long history of struggling to ensure that employees receive the wages they have earned, did not receive the vote tonight to be confirmed as the Department of Labor’s Wages and Hours Manager. “Despite this result, I will never stop fighting for working families and for a fully staffed DOL with leaders dedicated to protecting workers,” she said in a statement. This comes as another of Biden’s candidates is currently facing an uphill battle for confirmation. Some Senate Democrats, including Cinema, have privately voiced concerns about Biden’s election as Los Angeles mayor to Eric Garcetti, the mayor of Los Angeles. Concerns have been raised by a former employee of the mayor’s office, who had previously accused him of ignoring sexual harassment and intimidation by one of his former senior associates. Garcetti has repeatedly denied the allegations. This story has been updated with additional developments on Thursday.
