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The Senate has confirmed Lori Chavez-DeRemer as the new U.S. Labor Secretary through a vote held on Monday. She will now be responsible for enforcing federally mandated worker rights and protections, especially during a period when the White House aims to reduce the number of government employees.
Chavez-DeRemer’s role as head of the Labor Department will involve overseeing the department amidst legal challenges to Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency’s authority concerning layoffs and access to confidential government information.
With nearly 16,000 full-time employees and a proposed budget of $13.9 billion for the 2025 fiscal year, the Labor Department is tasked with significant responsibilities. These include reporting the U.S. unemployment rate, regulating workplace health and safety, investigating disputes related to minimum wage, child labor, and overtime pay, and enforcing laws pertaining to union organizing and wrongful terminations.
Several prominent labor unions, including the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, have supported Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination. As a former Republican congresswoman from Oregon and the daughter of a Teamster, she gained a reputation for being pro-labor during her single term in the House.
The Senate confirmation vote was 67-32, with 17 Democrats voting in favor and three Republicans voting against.
With Chavez-DeRemer’s confirmation, the Senate has now approved all but one of Trump’s Cabinet selections. The Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions previously voted 14-9 to support her nomination, with all Republicans except Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky voting in favor. Three Democrats on the committee—Sens. John Hickenlooper of Colorado, Tim Kaine of Virginia and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire—also supported her.
During her confirmation hearing, Republican senators questioned Chavez-DeRemer about her past co-sponsorship of legislation designed to facilitate unionization and penalize employers obstructing organizing efforts.
She avoided giving a direct answer on whether she still supported the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act.
Chavez-DeRemer explained that her initial co-sponsorship was motivated by a desire to participate in discussions on important labor issues. However, she later walked back some of her support for the bill, expressing support for state “right to work” laws, which allow employees to opt out of union membership in their workplaces.
The PRO Act was not voted on during her time in Congress, but it was reintroduced in both the House and Senate last week.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer stated, “Donald Trump and his billionaire allies are depriving working families of the American dream, manipulating society to benefit the wealthy. That’s why the PRO Act is essential, to empower hardworking Americans to negotiate for better wages, benefits, and safer working conditions.”
During her time in Congress, Chavez-DeRemer also co-sponsored legislation aimed at protecting public-sector workers from Social Security benefit reductions due to government pension benefits. However, this bill also failed to gain sufficient Republican support.
Chavez-DeRemer navigated a delicate path during her confirmation hearing, seeking to appeal to both Democrats and Republicans. Regarding a potential increase in the federal minimum wage, she acknowledged that it had remained at $7.25 per hour since 2009 but expressed concerns about potentially “shocking the economy.”
Some Democratic senators and advocates for workers’ rights have raised concerns about Chavez-DeRemer’s potential independence as Labor Secretary under President Donald Trump and about where her loyalty would lie, considering the administration’s history of terminating thousands of federal employees.
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