Biden’s Labor Department Nominee Fails to Advance in Senate After Democrats Vote With GOP

Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) joined Republicans to block Biden’s nominee.

(Right) Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee chair, presides over a hearing on battery technology in Washington on Sept. 22, 2022. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images); (Left) Sen. Robert Menendez arrives at a federal court to be indicted on corruption charges in Newark, N.J., on April 2, 2015. Kena Betancur/Getty Images

Two Democratic lawmakers joined with Republicans to vote against advancing President Joe Biden’s nominee to serve as assistant secretary of the Labor Department on Nov. 28.

Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) joined Republicans in a 44 to 51 vote that stalled the nomination of José Javier Rodriguez on the Senate floor. Four Democrats were absent from the vote.