The U.S. Senate confirmed this week President Barack Obama's appointment of Christopher Lu as deputy secretary of labor.
Lu is the first Asian American deputy secretary of a cabinet department under President Obama, and only the second in history. He replaces deputy secretary Seth Harris, who held the position since 2009.
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"I commend the Senate on its confirmation of Chris Lu to be the new deputy secretary of labor. Chris is an enormously capable manager and a devoted public servant, whose commitment to President Obama's opportunity agenda is second to none," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez. "He will continue to be a tenacious advocate for American workers, and I look forward to working with him on all of our priorities — from job training to wage protection to worker safety to benefits security. Welcome aboard, Deputy Secretary Lu."
Lu was White House cabinet secretary during President Obama's first term. The President announced Lu's appointment in January.
Lu is a senior fellow at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress. In 2013 he was a fellow at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics and the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy. From 2009 to 2013, Lu served in the White House as Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary. In 2008, he served as executive director of the Obama-Biden Transition Project. From 2005 to 2008, Lu served as Legislative Director and then as Acting Chief of Staff for U.S. Senator Barack Obama.
From 1997 to 2005, he served as Deputy Chief Counsel of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (Minority Staff). He began his career as a law clerk to Judge Robert E. Cowen on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and as an attorney at Sidley Austin. Lu was co-chair of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders from 2011 to 2013. He received an A.B. from Princeton University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
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