One of President Donald Trump’s cabinet picks may be at risk of not getting confirmed amid growing uncertainty from Republican lawmakers, according to multiple reports.
Some Republican lawmakers are less than enthused about Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Trump’s nominee for Department of Labor (DOL) secretary, according to various reports. Notably, many Republicans have criticized Chavez-DeRemer for her pro-union stance.
In November, Trump unveiled Chavez-DeRemer as his pick to lead the DOL, stating he was looking forward to working with her to “create tremendous opportunity for American Workers.” Trump added that Chavez-DeRemer has “worked tirelessly with both Business and Labor to build America’s workforce.”
“Lori’s strong support from both the Business and Labor communities will ensure that the Labor Department can unite Americans of all backgrounds behind our Agenda for unprecedented National Success – Making America Richer, Wealthier, Stronger and more Prosperous than ever before!” Trump stated in a Truth Social post.
Chavez-DeRemer, who represented Oregon’s 5th congressional district from 2023 to 2025, supported several pieces of legislation favored by Democrats, including the PRO Act, a bill championed by former President Joe Biden that targeted the private sector. Notably, Chavez-DeRemer also supports the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act, which would “strengthen” the rights of public sector workers who want to join unions and or bargain collectively.
One lawmaker on Capitol Hill who is seemingly undecided about supporting Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination to head the DOL is Republican Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, who wrote in a Nov. 2024 X post that he was looking forward to speaking with her about her “vision” for the DOL, adding that he will “need to get a better understanding of her support for Democrat legislation in Congress that would strip Louisiana’s ability to be a right to work state, and if that will be her position going forward.”
Meanwhile, some Senate Republicans have expressed concerns over backing Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination, including Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who said in December that “some of those things she supports would give me some concern.”
“I’m not going to support her,” Paul told NBC News in January. “I’m the national spokesman and lead author of the right-to-work bill. Her support for the PRO Act, which would not only oppose national right to work but would pre-empt state law on right to work — I think it’s not a good thing.”
Still, some lawmakers have signaled support for Trump’s DOL pick, including Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who said in October 2024 that Chavez-DeRemer was the “poster girl for effectiveness and hard work,” and left-wing Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who said in December 2024 that she was looking forward to “hearing more” from Chavez-DeRemer, adding that “it’s a big deal that one of the few Republican lawmakers who have endorsed the PRO Act could lead the Department of Labor.”
The former Oregon congresswoman has also received support from various union groups, including North America’s Building Trades Unions, which urged the Senate to “swiftly confirm” Chavez-DeRemer in a Feb. 6 post on X.
Meanwhile, several of Trump’s presidential cabinet nominees have sailed through the first steps of their confirmation processes despite controversies, including Tulsi Gabbard, who on Tuesday secured the Senate Intelligence Committee’s vote to advance her nomination as director of national intelligence, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, whose nomination advanced out of the Senate Finance Committee on the same day.
A few of Trump‘s cabinet picks who have already been confirmed include Interior Department Secretary Doug Burgum, Treasury Department Secretary Scott Bessent and Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was confirmed on Jan. 24 after a contentious confirmation process.
Chavez-DeRemer’s confirmation hearing with the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions is scheduled for Feb. 12.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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