WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Friday named Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer to lead the Department of Labor in his second administration, elevating a Republican congresswoman who has strong support from unions in her district but lost reelection in November.
Chavez-DeRemer will have to be confirmed by the Senate, which will be under Republican control when Trump takes office on Jan. 20, 2025, and can formally send nominations to Capitol Hill.
Here are things to know about the labor secretary-designate, the agency she would lead if she wins Senate approval and how she could matter to Trump’s encore presidency.
Chavez-DeRemer has a pro-labor record that unions like
Chavez-DeRemer is a one-term congresswoman, having lost reelection in her competitive Oregon district earlier this month. But in her short stint on Capitol Hill she has established a clear record on workers’ rights and organized labor issues that belie the Republican Party’s usual alliances with business interests.
She was an enthusiastic back of the PRO Act, legislation that would make it easier to unionize on a federal level. The bill, one of Democratic President Joe Biden’s top legislative priorities, passed the House during Biden’s first two years in office, when Democrats controlled the chamber. But it never had a chance of attracting enough Republican senators to reach the 60 votes required to avoid a filibuster in the Senate.
Chavez-DeRemer also co-sponsored another piece of legislation that would protect public-sector workers from having their Social Security benefits docked because of government pension benefits. That proposal also has lingered for a lack of GOP support.
President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Republican Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon for the job of labor secretary.
Throughout his campaign, Trump made many promises to America’s workers — that he would protect their jobs, bring manufacturing back to the U.S., and restore their ability to achieve the American dream. He also proposed ending taxes on tips and overtime. Pieces of this agenda could end up on Chavez-DeRemer’s plate.
“Lori’s strong support from both the Business and Labor communities will ensure that the Labor Department can unite Americans of all backgrounds,” Trump wrote in a statement released by his campaign.
In 2022, Chavez-DeRemer was elected to her first term in Congress to represent Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, flipping a blue seat to red. Earlier this week, as word spread Chavez-DeRemer could become Trump’s pick for labor secretary, the freshman Republican issued a statement on her plans for the role.
“I’d be honored to have the opportunity to support President Trump’s mission to empower and grow our nation’s workforce,” she said. “Hardworking Americans finally have a lifeline with the president, and I’d work tirelessly to support his impressive efforts to remake the Republican Party into the Party of the American worker.”