The U.S. Senate voted 80 to 17 yesterday to confirm now labor secretary Hilda Solis. The confirmation had been delayed for weeks due to Republican opposition based mostly on her pro-union stance. Not surprisingly, labor supporters have pushed hard for the nominee and are calling her confirmation a ?huge victory?. Solis was formally a Congresswoman representing California and starts in her new post today.
See "Solis is labor secretary after several weeks' delay", The Boston Globe, February 24, 2009