President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks have largely enjoyed public deference from Senate Republicans and from conservatives generally. Not Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.).
Trump picked the Oregon Republican, who lost her reelection bid on Nov. 5, to be his Labor secretary. It immediately prompted criticism from conservatives who see Chavez-DeRemer as too close to labor unions.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who’s set to chair the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in the next Congress, had this to say about Chavez-DeRemer, citing her support for the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act:
It’s a rare case of Senate Republicans — and conservatives more broadly — openly questioning a Trump Cabinet pick. And not because of poor qualifications or alleged personal indiscretions, a la former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).
Instead, Chavez-DeRemer is coming under scrutiny because of her support for a key Democratic agenda item and concerns that she’d undermine GOP efforts to undo the Biden administration’s labor regulations.
Republicans aghast: Chavez-DeRemer was one of just three GOP co-sponsors of the PRO Act, a bill to expand collective bargaining rights and strengthen the influence of labor unions.
Charlyce Bozzello of the Center for Union Facts, which is critical of labor unions, said Chavez-DeRemer’s support for the bill “shows a blatant disregard for the needs of American workers and job creators.” National Right to Work Committee President Mark Mix said Chavez-DeRemer “should have no place in the Trump administration.”
GOP lawmakers in both chambers have railed against the PRO Act, saying it would upend states’ right-to-work laws. Republicans on the HELP Committee — which will process Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination — have voted against it. The bill was the subject of a rowdy hearing a year ago which saw a GOP senator challenge Teamsters President Sean O’Brien to a fight.
O’Brien praised the selection of Chavez-DeRemer, saying it showed Trump was “putting American workers first.” The AFL-CIO noted Chavez-DeRemer’s PRO Act support but called Trump’s agenda “anti-worker.”
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said Chavez-DeRemer’s record “suggests real support of workers and their right to unionize.”
Will it matter? Chavez-DeRemer represents a purple district, so the one-term lawmaker could quite easily explain her support for the PRO Act by arguing she was representing the views of her constituents. But in order to win Senate confirmation, Chavez-DeRemer will need to reassure Republicans that she’s committed to their agenda when it comes to labor regulations.
Republicans have sought to use the Congressional Review Act to invalidate the Biden administration’s rulemaking on labor issues, including the joint employer and independent contractor rules. The expectation has been that the incoming administration would reverse both.
Chavez-DeRemer voted with her party to block the joint employer rule earlier this year. She wasn’t present for a committee vote on the independent contractor rule. Both issues will come up during her confirmation hearing.
But Cassidy’s statement was notable in that it signaled a level of concern about the nominee even before the vetting process had begun. GOP leaders have long been concerned about a growing pro-union sentiment in the party — often advanced by Vice President-elect JD Vance and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), for example.
Hawley, who has broken from his party on a handful of labor-related votes, said Chavez-DeRemer is a “great pick.”
“Donald Trump beat Kamala Harris in the election because he had the backing of working people. Now his mandate is to pass an agenda that delivers for them,” Hawley told us. “Congressional Republicans need to get over their love affair with corporate America and wake up to who their voters are.”
