Jean-Pierre on Labor Pick Julie Su and California's 20 Billion Dollar Jobless Fraud: 'Oh, Absolutely' She'll Be Confirmed (March 1, 2023)

One day after President Joe Biden picked Julie Su to run the Labor Department, a reporter raised the record she brought from California. “While she was labor secretary of California, the — during COVID — the state lost between $20 billion and $32 billion in unemployment insurance to fraudsters,” the reporter said. “Meanwhile, 5 million people had benefits delayed and a million people had them wrongfully canceled. Is the President concerned that this will impact her getting confirmed?” [1]

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the fraud had to be put “in context,” and predicted Su would be confirmed. “Oh, absolutely. Yes,” she said [1].

Su never was. The full Senate never voted on her nomination [6][3].

The video above shows the exchange from the March 1, 2023, White House briefing. Quotes are from the official transcript published by the American Presidency Project [1].

”Put This All in Context”

Jean-Pierre began by blaming the times. “So, a couple of things, because there’s — we got to put this all in context of what was happening at the time. It was a historic crush of unemployment claims at the onset of the pandemic,” she said [1].

She said the fraud was not California’s alone. The design of the pandemic unemployment systems, she said, “led to challenges — right? — including fraud attacks, as you were just stating, across the nation in red and blue states alike,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

Then she praised Su’s record. “Under Julie’s leadership, California took important steps to process a number of claims — we’re talking about one in five, which is in the entire nation,” she said, so that people out of work “could continue to pay their rent, could continue to put food on the table” [1].

”Oh, Absolutely”

The reporter followed up: “So, does he think she can be confirmed?” [1]

“Oh, absolutely. Yes. He thinks that the Senate should confirm her and she is the right person for the job and has the experience to do the job,” Jean-Pierre said. “And let’s not forget: She has spent the last two years working hand in hand, you know, with — with Secretary Walsh” [1].

A day earlier, Biden had called Su “a champion for workers” and asked “the Senate to take up this nomination quickly” [4].

California’s $20 Billion Fraud

Su led California’s Labor and Workforce Development Agency from 2019 to 2021, according to Ballotpedia [3].

In October 2021, state officials said California had given away “at least $20 billion to criminals in the form of fraudulent unemployment benefits,” more than 11% of all benefits paid since the pandemic began, FOX 11 Los Angeles reported. In January of that year, officials had estimated the fraud “could be as high as $31 billion” [2].

The fraud reached death row. State officials approved “at least $810 million in benefits in the names of people who were in prison, including dozens of infamous killers on death row,” the report said. They even sent $21,000 to an address in Roseville “under the name and Social Security number of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein” [2].

“I don’t think people have captured in their mind the enormity of the amount of money has been issued errantly to undeserving people,” said Assemblyman Tom Lackey, a Republican from Palmdale, who brought an illustration of 29 dump trucks full of $100 bills [2].

The Labor Department’s ESG Rule

In the same briefing, a reporter asked about a Republican resolution to overturn a Labor Department rule on ESG investing in retirement plans. Two Democratic senators had said they would vote for it. Jean-Pierre called it the “MAGA Republican” agenda: “And what they’re doing, again, is they’re really pushing down the throats of private sector” [1].

The resolution passed. Biden vetoed it on March 20, 2023, saying it “would force retirement managers to ignore these relevant risk factors” [5].

By the Numbers

$20 billion: California’s confirmed unemployment fraud as of October 2021 [2].
11%-plus: the share of all benefits paid that went to fraud [2].
$810 million: benefits approved in the names of prison inmates [2].
281 days: how long Su’s nomination waited without a floor vote by December 2023 [6].
67-32: the Senate vote confirming President Trump’s labor secretary in 2025 [8].

What Happened Next

Her nomination stalled. By Dec. 21, 2023, Su’s nomination had been returned to the White House without a confirmation vote. “Acting Secretary Julie Su’s nomination has lasted 281 days, the longest a cabinet-level nominee has waited without a floor vote when the same party controls the White House and the Senate,” said Rep. Kevin Kiley of California, who chaired the House Workforce Protections Subcommittee [6].

Kiley pointed to California’s gig-worker law. “During her tenure as Acting Labor Secretary, Su refused to answer whether AB 5 was a good law, even though she championed and aggressively enforced the law during her tenure in California,” he said. “President Biden knows Julie Su will never be confirmed, and if Ms. Su remains in power as an unconfirmed Acting Secretary, every action of the Labor Department is under a legal cloud” [6].

Biden sent it back anyway. On Jan. 8, 2024, the White House again nominated “Julie A. Su, of California, to be Secretary of Labor” [7]. She served as acting secretary from 2023 to 2025, and no action was taken on her nomination, according to Ballotpedia [3].

Trump’s pick got the votes. On March 10, 2025, the Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s nominee, former Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, 67-32, with 17 Democrats voting yes, CBS News reported. “My guiding principle will be President Trump’s guiding principle — ensuring a level playing field for businesses, unions and, most importantly, the American worker,” she had told senators [8].

More of Jean-Pierre’s answers checked against the record are on HYGO News’ Karine Jean-Pierre record page.