Update: Solis confirmed as labor secretary Most eyes are on President Obama as he addresses Congress tonight. But progressives are more excited about the long-delayed vote to confirm Hilda Solis for the Secretary of Labor. After stalling her nomination for weeks, the Senate Republicans have finally given up their obstruction of one of the most progressive members of Obama's Cabinet. According to Sam Stein at the Huffington Post:

Republicans in the Senate just agreed to unanimous consent on the California Democrat's nomination for the labor post, according to a labor source. That means that no cloture vote is needed and Solis will be confirmed should she get more than 50 votes. In short: she will be the next Labor Secretary.

This is great news. Not only is Solis a true champion of labor and a staunch supporter of the Employee Free Choice Act, but this allows Judy Chu's campaign to fill Solis's Congressional seat to move full speed ahead. According to her campaign, the most likely date is now the statewide special on May 19th. The Governor should be confirming this date shortly. As you all know, APAP PAC has already endorsed Judy Chu and are moving forward with a a variety of ways to elect the first Asian American woman to represent Southern California. Please check out these ways you can help: Apply for the Fukushima Fellowship and work on her campaign Attend one of the two upcoming fundraisers in LA for Judy. March 5th - $250 in the Hollywood Hills and March 8th - $50 in downtown LA. If you'd like to also help with volunteering and fieldwork, please send us an email as we're putting together teams. This is a race we can win. And Judy in Congress will make a HUGE difference for progressives everywhere.