Donald Trump’s choice to head the Labor Department took center stage on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. Former Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer appeared before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee in her quest to become the latest member of the new Republican coalition assembled by the president.
The nomination of the labor ally ruffled some feathers on the GOP side and there were questions heading into the day about whether the former representative from Oregon would receive enough support from Republicans to advance her nomination.
While the hearing included some tense questioning from the right and left, it appears as though Chavez-DeRemer will have the votes to get out of committee.
GOP Controversy
Chavez-DeRemer served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives before being defeated by Democrat Janelle Bynum in the 2024 election. During that time, she cosponsored a bill protecting the right to organize.
The bill was lauded by Democrats for strengthening labor protections and expanding workers’ rights. Republicans, meanwhile, lambasted the bill for its provision overturning right-to-work laws, which make it illegal to require workers to join a union or pay union dues as a condition of employment. These protections exist in 27 states.
Republican members of the committee questioned Chavez-DeRemer on her past support for some provisions of this proposed law. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, one of her biggest critics on the GOP side, questioned whether she still supports the PRO Act. “I fully, fairly support states who want to protect their right to work,” she said. “I have said that to every senator that I have visited.”
Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who has wavered in her support of some of Trump’s cabinet nominees, asked Chavez-DeRemer whether she continues “to support the elimination of secret ballots in union elections,” to which she said she does “not support that portion.”
With Chavez-DeRemer’s biggest obstacle appearing to be Republican hesitancy, Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin tried to position her as a collaborator when introducing her prior to her opening remarks.
“Lori represents someone that is uniquely positioned to bring people like [Teamsters President Sean O’Brien] and I, who presented Lori to President Trump and said, this is someone that we can work together with,” Mullin told the committee. “This is a negotiation between two factions of the party that is saying we’re willing to work together.”
Mullin and Sean O’Brien are unexpected allies in their support of Chavez-DeRemer, as the two nearly came to blows during a committee hearing back in November 2023 until Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders intervened. For his part, O’Brien told Fox News he is ready to go to the mat to get Chavez-DeRemer confirmed.
The Democrat Debate
While Democrats like Sen. Elizabeth Warren have praised Chavez-DeRemer and signaled their support, she still faced hostile questions. At one point, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine seemed to lay a trap for Chavez-DeRemer with a question about veterans.
KAINE: Should you be confirmed, would you take those obligations to watch out for American veterans seriously?
CHAVEZ-DEREMER: Absolutely.
KAINE: If you became aware that an employer, a major employer, was taking actions that disproportionately negatively affected veterans, would that concern you?
CHAVEZ-DEREMER: Yes.
KAINE: The mass firing that President Trump is doing within the federal government right now is hitting veterans very, very hard. The civilian workforce is about 3 percent veteran. The federal workforce is 30 percent veteran.
What Kaine left out of his question is that the Trump administration is not targeting veterans. They are enacting broad cuts designed to reduce the size of government across the board and, as Kaine himself pointed out, the federal government hires a high number of veterans. Therefore, any broad cuts would impact veterans too.
Senate Democrats also used their time to target Elon Musk. In one instance, she was asked if she would “be a rubber stamp for the anti-worker agenda of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and other multi-billionaires who are blatantly anti-union.”
As has become customary in these confirmation hearings, Democrats asked Chavez-DeRemer what she would do if Trump asked her to violate the law. “The president of the United States has the power to determine what he’s going to do through his executive power,” she responded. “I will always follow the law and the Constitution.” She added that she does not believe the president will give her an illegal order.
Confirmation Chances
Overall, the hearing lacked the expected fireworks from either side of the aisle. Democrats and Republicans both took time to emphasize the importance of growing apprenticeship training, which Chavez-DeRemer agreed with.
As Megyn said on Thursday’s AM Update, when you are down to questioning about apprenticeship training, you are in a good place to see your nominee confirmed.
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