Walsh to leave Biden Cabinet for NHL union

Two persons with knowledge of U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh’s plans said that he will be leaving the Biden administration to lead the National Hockey League Players’ Association.

In order to replace Don Fehr, who led the hockey players’ union for nearly a decade, the union has been looking for a new executive director. When contacted on Tuesday, a representative for the organization did not have any new information to provide.

While serving as mayor of Boston from 2014 to 2021, Walsh was a huge Bruins fan who displayed an encyclopedic knowledge of the sport in internet videos.

To avoid a strike that may have crippled the U.S. economy just before the 2022 midterm elections, Labor Secretary Walsh helped mediate a temporary work deal between major freight railroads and their unions. After employees refused to approve the contract, Congress stepped in and pushed a deal on the unions.

On Tuesday, one administration official and a second source familiar with Walsh’s plans stated that he would be leaving his role following President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech, though the latter emphasized that the decision had not yet been finalized. These two individuals are discussing their upcoming departures on the condition of anonymity.