Search icon

News

09th Jan 2021

Joe Biden jokes new Secretary of Labor’s only ‘downfall’ is his Galway heritage

Sarah Finnan

US President-elect Joe Biden has nominated Irish-American politician Marty Walsh as his new Secretary of Labour. 

Announcing his picks for the team he wants to lead the Department of Justice during his time in office, US President-elect Joe Biden has nominated Irish-American politician Marty Walsh for Secretary of Labour.

Part of a string of other nominations announced yesterday, Biden laughed that the only “downside” to choosing Walsh is that his family are not from his own ancestral homestead in Co Mayo.

“For Secretary of Labor, I nominate a good friend and a standup guy, Marty Walsh of Boston. The son of Irish immigrants, the only downside is that they’re not from Mayo, they’re from Galway.”

The current mayor of Boston, Walsh’s parents – originally from Galway – emigrated to the US in the 1950s.

READ NEXT: Met Éireann confirm temperatures dropped as low as -8 degrees celsius this morning

Topics: