[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] As U.S. President Joe Biden enters the latter half of his term, he has begun reshuffling his White House staff, and for the first time, a cabinet member?the Secretary of Labor?is resigning.
Major U.S. media outlets such as AP News and Bloomberg reported on the 7th (local time) that Marty Walsh, U.S. Secretary of Labor, will soon resign and move to serve as the representative of the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA).
A government official told major foreign media on the same day, "Secretary Walsh is expected to resign after President Biden's State of the Union address this evening."
Secretary Walsh, a former president of the Electricians and Steelworkers Union, led negotiations during the U.S. railroad strike and previously served as the mayor of Boston. Last year, he traveled through 39 U.S. states meeting with workers to discuss the Biden administration's labor agenda.
If Secretary Walsh resigns, it will be the first cabinet member replacement in the Biden administration, which took office in January 2021.
Political circles are paying close attention to whether President Biden will undertake further personnel changes in the White House and cabinet ahead of his official re-election bid for the 2024 presidential election. Since two years have passed since the Biden cabinet was formed, there is analysis that some officials are planning to leave or move on to the next election campaign.
Earlier, on the 27th of last month, President Biden replaced Chief of Staff Ron Klain with Jeff Zients, former White House COVID-19 response coordinator. On the 2nd, he announced the resignation of Brian Deese, Chair of the National Economic Council (NEC).
He is also expected to soon appoint a successor to the NEC Chair and is anticipated to make additional White House staff changes.
However, it is known that the current structure of the cabinet will basically be maintained.
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