The White House acknowledged Thursday that Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su doesn't have the Senate votes to be confirmed to lead the agency. But months ago, officials determined Su could serve as acting secretary indefinitely — even without Senate confirmation.

Why it matters: The twin determinations from team Biden — one political and one legal — will raise the temperature on Su’s confirmation, potentially complicating her path to winning 50 votes on the Senate floor.

Driving the news: A White House official called on Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) Thursday to reconsider their positions — even though only Manchin has publicly voiced opposition to her nomination.

• "President Biden and his team continue fighting for Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su’s confirmation," a White House official told Axios in a statement, adding, "[W]e hope Senator Manchin and Senator Sinema reconsider their position."
• That amounts to a frank acknowledgment that Sinema isn’t a "yes."
• The statement could irritate the independent senator from Arizona, who rarely indicates how she’s going to vote on a nominee before the roll is called.

Zoom out: By singling the two senators out by name, the White House is indicating that it's bracing for a long fight. They also have a plan B to keep Su in her acting role.

• When she took over from then-Secretary Marty Walsh in March, the Biden administration relied on a statute that would ensure that there was "no clock" on her ability to...

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