On his way out of the White House, Joe Biden pardoned Gen. Mark Milley, members of the Jan. 6 committee, and Dr. Anthony Fauci. On the other hand, Biden did not pardon Julie Su, his choice for labor secretary who was never confirmed by the Senate. Biden’s “acting” labor secretary leaves behind a massive record of fraud that invites a look back to 2020.

In March 2020, California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency, essentially locking down the state. The federal government responded with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) measure. CARES channeled federal funding through California’s Employment Development Department (EDD), then overseen by Julie Su, head of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA). On Su’s watch, the EDD became a target for fraudsters across the nation and beyond.

Julie Su Lost Billions

A northern California woman filed 100 fake claims, including one in the name of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. California prison inmates filed 35,000 claims totaling $140 million in benefits.

Convicted murderers Scott Peterson and Cary Stayner filed fraudulent claims and death row inmates filed 158 claims for $420,000 in benefits. One convict filed a claim under the name “poopy britches.”

Fontrell Antonio Baines of Memphis, Tenn., better known as rapper “Nuke Bizzle,” exploited the debit cards EDD had pre-loaded with benefits. According to the federal Department of Justice, Baines filed 92 fraudulent claims resulting in “attempted losses to EDD and the United States Treasury of approximately $1,256,108 and actual losses of at least $704,760.”

In a video titled “EDD,” the rapper bragged, “I done got rich off EDD ... I’m in Dior havin’ money fun ... Ten cards, I’m swiping 10K a day. Counting up bills like a CPA.” And so on, as legitimate claimants waited months for their benefits.

Julie Su claimed California “did not have sufficient security measures in place to prevent this level of fraud,” but did not explain what security measures she failed to put in place. The approximately $31 billion in fraud came up when Biden tapped Su to head the federal Labor Department. So did her advocacy for California’s Assembly Bill 5, a frontal assault on workers’ independence that targeted rideshare drivers and limited freelance writers, photographers, and videographers to 35 submissions per publication, per year.

In September of 2023, General Accounting Office (GAO) general counsel Edda Emmanuelli Perez ruled that “as the Deputy Secretary of Labor, Ms. Su may serve as Acting Secretary under section 552 until a successor is appointed.” Biden never appointed a successor, enabling Su to carry on without Senate confirmation.

As Katy Grimes of the California Globe notes, “acting” Secretary Julie Su “forgave $32.6 billion of California’s debt,” for which she was primarily responsible. Last year the EDD admitted that the losses run to a staggering $55 billion and the EDD also “owes the federal government more than $20 billion it borrowed during the pandemic just to cover regular state benefits.” Grimes thinks it’s high time Su “faces heat for California’s pandemic fraud,” and it’s hard to deny that she has a case.

In December of 2022, Fontrell Baines was sentenced to 77 months in federal prison on fraud, drug, and gun charges. The “Nuke Bizzle” rapper was also ordered to pay $704,760 in restitution to the EDD. A low-level fraudster gets prison time but Julie Su, the ruling-class official directly responsible, has never been held accountable.

According to Grimes, approximately $215 billion of the $900 billion paid out in national unemployment benefits was lost to fraud and other “overpayments.” As it turns out, California was responsible for “about 30 percent of that $215 billion.” As taxpayers might note, we’re talking real money here.

President Trump has named Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer to head the Labor Department. Senators might bring up all that business with the unemployment fraud. They should also be sure to get her take on AB-5, the most anti-worker, anti-freedom legislation in recent memory. American workers will want to know if Chavez-DeRemer believes that California law is a model for the nation. Trump attorney general pick Pam Bondi also has plenty to consider.

Beyond the massive fraud is the process that allowed Julie Su to serve without Senate confirmation. An unelected GAO bureaucrat allowed an obviously incompetent appointee to run the labor department. While confirmation awaits, Julie Su is the best evidence that this must never happen again.