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© Provided by The Guardian Joe Biden introduced Julie Su as his nominee to take over as labor secretary in a White House ceremony today. Photograph: REX/Shutterstock

Calling her “the American dream,” Joe Biden introduced his nominee to lead the labor department Julie Su, who could become the first Asian American to serve as a cabinet secretary in his administration.

“Julie is the American dream,” the president said in a White House ceremony. He noted how both of her parents immigrated to the United States from China, with her mother holding a union job and her father owning a small business. “I think even more importantly, she’s committed to making sure that dream is within reach of every American.”

In her address to a crowd of lawmakers and officials, Su remarked that, “60 years ago, my mom came to the United States on a cargo ship because she couldn’t afford a passenger ticket. Recently, she got a call from the President of the United States telling her that her daughter was going to be nominated to be US labor secretary.”

“I believe in the transformative power of America, and I know the transformative power of a good job,” Su said.

Lawmakers had pressured Biden for not having any cabinet secretaries of Asian American or Pacific Islander descent, though US Trade Representative Katherine Tai’s parents were immigrants from Taiwan, and vice president Kamala Harris’s mother was Indian. In a nod to that pressure, Biden opened the ceremony by remarking, “If in fact, you were not picked to be the next secretary of labor, I would be run out of town.”

Su, who currently serves as deputy labor secretary, will take over from Marty Walsh, who is departing as the head of the labor department to lead the National Hockey League player’s union. Her nomination will have to be confirmed by the Senate, which is controlled by Biden’s Democratic allies.