Chavez-DeRemer Confirmed As Trump’s Labor Chief With Dem Support
The Republican-led U.S. Senate voted 67 to 32 in favor of confirming Lori Chavez-DeRemer as President Donald Trump’s Labor secretary.
Trump selected Chavez-DeRemer for the role due to her father’s background as a Teamsters member, signaling his intent to challenge the Democrats’ traditional ties with organized labor.
Among Republicans, Sens. Tedd Budd (N.C.), Rand Paul (Ky.), and former GOP leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) were the only ones to voice opposition to Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination. Meanwhile, seventeen Democrats supported her confirmation, and Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) did not participate in the vote.
On February 27, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee advanced her nomination with a 14 to 9 vote.
Following Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) decision to vote against her, Chavez-DeRemer became the first prominent Trump nominee who needed Democratic backing to clear committee review.
Democratic Sens. Maggie Hassan (N.H.), John Hickenlooper (Colo.), and Tim Kaine (Va.) voted “yes” alongside the committee’s Republican members.
Paul opposed Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination due to her previous support for the Pro Act, which would diminish state-level right-to-work laws and enhance the influence of organized labor.
Despite broad Republican opposition and resistance from the business community, she was one of only three GOP House members to endorse the measure during her single term.
Trump positioned himself as a pro-worker candidate with some pro-labor leanings; however, in his first term, he appointed individuals to the National Labor Relations Board and the Department of Labor who had a record of opposing unions.
As a result, these agencies implemented policies viewed as detrimental to workers, including restrictions on overtime protections.
Teamsters President Sean O’Brien played a role in advocating for Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination.
“The Biden administration used its authority as a weapon against workers, threatening their ability to earn a living and provide for their families,” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chairman of the HELP panel, stated on Monday.
“With President Trump back in office, we have an opportunity to enact a pro-America agenda at the Department of Labor that puts workers first,” he continued.
Just last week, the Senate confirmed Kelly Loeffler in a bipartisan decision to lead the Small Business Administration, increasing the number of Trump’s cabinet officials to 18.
The upper chamber voted 52-46 in favor of Loeffler’s nomination, with Nevada Democrat Sen. Jacky Rosen joining 51 Republicans in support.
Forty-six Democrats opposed Loeffler’s appointment, while Republican Sens. Jerry Moran of Kansas and Dan Sullivan of Alaska did not participate in the vote.
“Loeffler will now lead the agency with a roughly $1 billion budget tasked with providing loans, grants, and financial coaching to small-business owners nationwide,” the New York Post reported.
With an estimated net worth of approximately $1 billion, Loeffler previously worked as an executive at the financial services firm Intercontinental Exchange before being appointed to the U.S. Senate to serve out the term of the late Sen. Johnny Isakson.
The former Georgia senator lost her runoff election to current Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in January 2021, despite aligning closely with Trump and running campaign ads that depicted her as “more conservative than Attila the Hun.”
Her husband, Jeff Sprecher, is the CEO of Intercontinental Exchange and also serves as chairman of the New York Stock Exchange.
During her confirmation hearing before the Senate Small Business Committee last month, Loeffler vowed to support Trump, 78, in ushering in a “golden era of prosperity and growth.” She laid out her priorities of “ending inflation, cutting taxes, unleashing American energy dominance, slashing regulation, and reining in fraud, waste, and abuse across government.”
She also committed to donating her $200,000-plus annual salary as SBA administrator to charity, just as she had done with her $174,000 Senate salary between 2019 and 2021, The Post noted further.
“Sen. Loeffler is immensely qualified for this role,” stated Small Business Committee Chairwoman Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) in a floor speech last Thursday.
“As a successful businesswoman, it is abundantly clear that Senator Loeffler truly understands what it takes to be an entrepreneur and will be an effective voice for small businesses across America.”