Washington Labor Secretary Marty Walsh is leaving the Biden administration to become executive director of the NHL Players Association, the first cabinet secretary to leave the administration since President Biden took office.
NHL Players Association (NHLPA) announce Thursday that Walsh has been unanimously appointed to lead the association. The Boston native’s departure had been expected for several weeks.
“I am honored to be selected as Executive Director of the NHLPA,” Walsh said in a statement. “In accepting this offer, I commit to doing everything in my power to advocate on behalf of the players. My years of experience in the labor movement and in public life have taught me that the job is never about me. It’s about us. It’s about the people we serve.”
Walsh, 55, wrote in a letter to Labor Department staff that he will be leaving his position in mid-March.
“I told the president how deeply grateful I was for the opportunity to work,” Walsh said. “As someone who grew up in an active union household and a card-carrying union member, serving as a labor secretary and being given this unique opportunity to help workers is in itself a privilege. But to do so for the most pro-labor and pro-union president and administration in our nation’s history is the supreme honor. And I Forever grateful to President Biden not only for the faith he has placed in me, but for his steadfast, transformative, and historic leadership on behalf of workers everywhere.”
Walsh’s letter also touched on his childhood battle with cancer, and his battle with addiction as an adult, saying, “You’ve defined his life with second chances, and our work has offered second chances to millions of people in this country who need them.”
Prior to joining the Biden administration, Walsh served as mayor of Boston from 2014 to 2021. He also served Massachusetts in Congress for 16 years. he was the designated survivor for this year’s State of the Union address.
Mr. Biden has not floated any possible replacements for Walsh yet.
Catherine Watson
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