{"id":2526944,"date":"2025-12-30T18:26:02","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T23:26:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/spanberger-taps-ex-biden-official-for-virginia-labor-secretary\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T18:28:37","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T23:28:37","slug":"spanberger-taps-ex-biden-official-for-virginia-labor-secretary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/spanberger-taps-ex-biden-official-for-virginia-labor-secretary\/","title":{"rendered":"Spanberger taps ex-Biden official for Virginia labor secretary"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fspanberger-taps-ex-biden-official-for-virginia-labor-secretary%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2526944&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger nominated Jessica Looman, the former administrator of the U.S. labor Department&#8217;s Wage and Hour Division under President Biden, to serve as Virginia&#8217;s secretary of labor pending confirmation by the General Assembly. Spanberger praised Looman&#8217;s union background (a member of the Laborers&#8217; international Union of North America) and her experience supporting workers and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/historic-significance-of-georgia-senate-contests\/\" title=\"Historic Significance of Georgia Senate Contests\">economic growth<\/a> at local, state, and federal levels. Looman highlighted her record enforcing minimum-wage and overtime protections, combating child labor, and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >helping recover roughly  billion<\/a> in back wages and damages during her federal tenure. The pick comes amid ongoing debate among Virginia Democrats over whether and how to reform the state&#8217;s right-to-work law; spanberger says she does not support a full repeal but is open to reform. looman said she is honored to be nominated and intends to focus on job creation, worker protections, and workforce development.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Spanberger taps ex-Biden official for Virginia labor secretary<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2459038\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Gov.-elect <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/abigail-spanberger\/\">Abigail Spanberger <\/a>(D-VA) tapped a former Biden administration <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-labor\/\">Labor Department<\/a> leader to head the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/virginia\/\">Virginia<\/a> Labor Department.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica Looman, the former administrator of the Labor Department&rsquo;s Wage and Hour Division under President Joe Biden, will serve as the state&rsquo;s next secretary of labor if confirmed by the General Assembly.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4074943\/rough-year-court-marc-elias\/\">A rough year in court for Marc Elias<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4363059\/mamdani-musk-fdny-chief-bonsignore\/\">Mamdani hits back at Musk after claim &#8216;people will die&#8217; over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/obama-offered-parenting-advice-to-chicago-mayor-elect\/\" title=\"Obama Offered Parenting Advice to Chicago Mayor...Elect\">mayor-elect&#8217;<\/a>s FDNY pick<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4362468\/bruce-blakeman-kathy-hochul-convicted-criminal-state-corrections-commission-new-york\/\">Blakeman slams Hochul over requirement to put convicted criminal on state corrections commission<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;As Secretary of Labor, Ms. Looman will drive my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-rules-against-biden-doj-in-high-stakes-jan-6-case-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Supreme Court rules against Biden DOJ in high...stakes Jan. 6 case ... Washington Examiner\">administration&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s mission to equip Virginians with the skills and education they need to build steady, rewarding careers &mdash; and power Virginia&rsquo;s economy into the future,&rdquo; Spanberger said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>Spanberger touted Looman&rsquo;s union background in her announcement.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Ms. Looman has extensive experience supporting workers and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-american-families-plan-is-far-from-a-new-deal-economic-boon\/\" title=\"Biden\u2019s \u2018American Families Plan\u2019 Is Far From a New Deal Economic Boon\">fostering economic growth<\/a> at the local, state, and federal levels. As a proud member of the Laborers&rsquo; International Union of North America, she understands how important it is to uphold workforce protections and prepare our citizens for both the jobs of today and tomorrow,&rdquo; Spanberger said.<\/p>\n<p>Looman&rsquo;s appointment comes at a time when Virginia&rsquo;s right-to-work law is at the center of a Democratic policy debate, with some Democrats pushing for <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vpm.org\/news\/2025-12-05\/right-to-work-virginia-general-assembly-carroll-foy-spanberger-labor\">reforms to the law<\/a> that could allow workplaces to require union fees from workers to fall under union contracts; others disagree with a full repeal.<\/p>\n<p>Spanberger told <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wric.com\/news\/virginia-news\/8news-exclusive-abigail-spanberger-says-she-wont-sign-bill-to-fully-repeal-virginias-right-to-work-law\/\">ABC8<\/a> that she does not believe in a full repeal of the right-to-work law, but she could see a path for reforming the law.<\/p>\n<p>The Biden administration touted the Wage and Hour Division&rsquo;s work in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dol.gov\/newsroom\/releases\/whd\/whd20241022-0\">recovering $1 billion <\/a>in back wages and damages for workers under Looman&rsquo;s term toward the end of their administration. Looman, in Spanberger&rsquo;s press release on her nomination, highlighted her work in enforcing minimum wage and overtime protections, as well as thwarting child labor in the United States.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/energy-and-environment\/3918768\/youngkin-rggi-affordability-virginia-spanberger\/\">YOUNGKIN PAINTS RGGI AS AFFORDABILITY ISSUE FOR VIRGINIANS AS SPANBERGER LOOKS TO REJOIN<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I am honored to be nominated by Governor-elect Spanberger to serve as Virginia&rsquo;s third Secretary of Labor, and I look forward to working with the Commonwealth&rsquo;s workforce protection and development agencies to improve economic opportunity and security for Virginia&rsquo;s workers,&rdquo; Looman said in a statement.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I share Governor-elect Spanberger&rsquo;s vision that both investing in the creation of good jobs and protecting workers are essential to sustaining the Commonwealth&rsquo;s economic growth and shared prosperity,&rdquo; Looman said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Spanberger names ex-Biden labor official<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3976,"featured_media":2526945,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AP25309094204084.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[52927,32502,45549,41726,5468],"class_list":["post-2526944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-abigail-spanberger","tag-biden-administration","tag-labor-secretary","tag-state-politics","tag-virginia"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AP25309094204084.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2526944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3976"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2526944"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2526944\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2526948,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2526944\/revisions\/2526948"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2526945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2526944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2526944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2526944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}