President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to be his labor secretary, Politico and CBS News reported Thursday. If Walsh is confirmed, the labor leader-turned-politician would be in charge of enforcing federal employment laws at a critical time.

Walsh has been Bostons mayor since 2013 and previously held a seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He served as president of the Laborers International Union of North America Local 223 until he arrived at Boston City Hall.

Walsh reportedly had the backing of several labor leaders , including the head of the AFL-CIO union federation, for a position in Bidens administration. The choice of Walsh, who is already friendly with Biden, would bring someone with deep union roots to the Labor Department.

If Walsh wins Senate confirmation, his tenure would likely mark an abrupt turnaround from the Trump years. The outgoing administration took a hands-off approach to employers, even during the workplace safety crisis created by the coronavirus pandemic. Since last year, the Labor Department has been run by Eugene Scalia, a former management-side attorney who spent years fighting government regulation.

As a labor leader, Walsh spent his career on the other side of the employment divide, advocating for the construction workers represented by Massachusetts building trades unions.