Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s attempt to cement the Biden-Harris administration’s labor agenda deep into President-elect Trump’s second term suffered a notable defeat Wednesday afternoon after two ex-Democratic senators helped tank a controversial labor nominee.
Independent Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who both recently left the Democratic Party and have opposed some left-wing legislation and nominees during the Biden administration, voted no on the renomination of Lauren McFerran to serve as the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) chair during a procedural vote Wednesday afternoon.
Sinema and Manchin’s decision to vote with Republican senators to block McFarren’s renomination could be the duo’s last break from their former Democratic colleagues as they are both set to retire later this month following their decisions to not seek reelection.
“This is not a surprise to anyone,” Manchin told reporters following his vote against McFerran.
Manchin, alongside Sinema and independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, notably voted with Senate Republicans in April to overturn an NLRB regulation through the Congressional Review Act that was authored by McFerran and would have allowed labor unions to organize franchise businesses.
With Sinema and Manchin joining GOP senators to tank McFerran’s renomination, Trump will have the opportunity to appoint his own NLRB chair and prevent a Democratic majority on the labor board during his administration.
Republican Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy led Republicans’ opposition against McFerran from his perch as ranking member of the Senate HELP Committee.
“This NLRB seat should be filled by President Trump and the new incoming Senate. Not a historically unpopular president and a Senate Democrat Majority that has lost its mandate to govern,” Cassidy said in a statement following the failed vote. “I am glad the Senate rejected Democrats’ partisan attempt to deny President Trump the opportunity to choose his own nominees and enact a pro-America, pro-worker agenda with the mandate he has from the American people.”
“It is deeply disappointing, a direct attack on working people, and incredibly troubling that this highly qualified nominee — with a proven track record of protecting worker rights — did not have the votes,” Schumer told reporters following the vote.
Republican lawmakers sharply criticized the NLRB under McFerran’s tenure as chair over allegations of “misconduct” in administering secret ballot elections and the board’s attempts to increase union activism in private sector workplaces. Cassidy condemned the NLRB in March 2023 “for weaponizing its enforcement powers to target high-profile employers in order to revive certain policies and precedents favored by unions.”
Influential conservative and business groups fiercely opposed McFerran’s renomination as NLRB chair, citing voters’ rejection of the Biden-Harris administration’s labor agenda and her support for union organizing.
“Under Ms. McFerran’s leadership during the Biden-Harris Administration, the NLRB has advanced a destructive and legally questionable labor law regime,” a statement authored by Americans for Tax Reform, Americans for Prosperity, and other groups wrote in a letter to lawmakers Tuesday. “This lame-duck Administration and Senate majority should not be permitted to extend their failed policies via the NLRB majority deep into President Trump’s term – until August 2026 – and deprive him of an appointment to the Board by reconfirming Ms. McFerran.”
“In her time serving as Chair of the NLRB, Lauren McFerran has failed to be an impartial arbiter of labor disputes as required under federal law,” Adam Temple, senior vice president for advocacy of the National Federation of Independent Business said in a statement Tuesday. “Instead, she has consistently tipped the scales in favor of organized labor over the interests of small business owners through decisions and regulations that increase red tape, compliance costs, and uncertainty for Main Street.”
Cassidy also criticized independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, chair of the Senate HELP Committee, for refusing to hold a public hearing on McFerran’s renomination, infuriating GOP senators who were not able to question McFerran about her record in a public forum.
“The weaponization of NLRB under Ms. McFerran’s leadership is deeply troubling. Her clear bias against employers and workers’ rights deserves accountability,” Cassidy said in a floor speech on Aug. 1 following the Senate HELP Committee’s party-line vote to advance McFerran’s nomination. “Unfortunately, shielding Democrat nominees from scrutiny has been the norm of the HELP Committee under Chair Sanders.”
With McFarren’s term set to expire this month, Democrats will possess a 2-1 majority on the five seat board going into the new year.
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