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Freights for Skates? Labor Sec Considers Leaving Biden Admin for NHL

Then-Boston mayor Marty Walsh (D.) in 2014 / @NHLBruins Twitter
February 2, 2023

Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh may flee the Biden administration to run the National Hockey League players' union, Politico reported Thursday.

Sources told Politico that "Walsh is a strong contender" for the role but hasn't yet signed a deal. While the Labor Department declined to comment, a union spokesman "did not deny Walsh was under consideration."

Walsh, a longtime associate of President Joe Biden, was involved in Boston unions before becoming the city's mayor in 2014. Both before and during his mayorship, Walsh was embroiled in controversies from strong-arming companies to covering for a union that protected a convicted child rapist.

If Walsh resigns, he'll be only the latest Biden official to quit the administration. Former chief science adviser Eric Lander resigned last year after reports broke that he bullied subordinates. The president's powerful chief of staff, Ron Klain, plans to step down this month. And top economic adviser Brian Deese is resigning ahead of a widely anticipated recession.

The White House praised Walsh for "overseeing negotiations last year that threatened to halt the nation's freight rail system," Politico noted, though rail unions later rejected the Biden administration's brokered agreement.