The U.S. Senate voted 67-32 Monday to confirm former Oregon congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer as labor secretary in President Donald Trump’s cabinet. Her appointment earned bipartisan support.

Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement Monday that she was “deeply honored” to be confirmed.

“As promised, I’ll work tirelessly to put American Workers First by fighting for good-paying jobs, safe working conditions, and secure retirement benefits,” Chavez-DeRemer said in a post on the social media platform X.

Chavez-DeRemer is a Republican who served one term in Congress, representing Oregon’s 5th Congressional District. She lost her reelection bid in November to Democrat Janelle Bynum. President Trump tapped Chavez-DeRemer to serve as the nation’s labor boss weeks after the November general election.

Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination faced pushback from some Republicans concerned about her past union-friendly stances. But compared to some of the president’s other nominees — like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — she sailed through the confirmation process with meager opposition from Democrats.

U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both from Oregon, voted against her, as did Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, from Washington state.

“I won’t vote for any cabinet nominee during Trump and Musk’s authoritarian administrative coup—this cannot be business as usual,” Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, said in a post on X following Monday’s vote. “That includes Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination. I hope she’ll be a champion for workers; I would gladly partner with her on that work.”

Still, 17 Senate Democrats voted for her.

A small business owner whose father was a member of the Teamsters union, Chavez-DeRemer’s political career has garnered support from some of Oregon’s largest employers and unions. Her supporters say she has a balanced view of the needs of businesses and their workers. In fact, Teamsters President Sean O’Brien recommended her for the job.

Chavez-DeRemer’s confirmation underscores how the Trump-led GOP is seeking to make inroads with organized labor groups that have historically backed Democrats. Nevertheless, Republican Sens. Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell, both of Kentucky, voted against her.

She will oversee the Labor Department’s 16,000 employees and its $13.9 billion budget for 2025. She also will be responsible for advocating for the Trump administration’s policies around rights and benefits of America’s businesses, workers and unions.

Chavez-DeRemer is the sixth Oregonian to serve on a presidential cabinet, according to The Oregonian/OregonLive. She takes the helm at a critical time for the Labor Department. Last week’s report from the department indicated yet another month of steady growth nationwide, with 151,000 jobs added in February.

Federal government jobs declined by more than 10,000 through the first two weeks of February, however, as the Trump administration continued its efforts to shrink the federal workforce.

The president’s priorities around the scope of federal government could affect labor outside that sector. On Monday, stocks fell on Wall Street to the lowest level of 2025 as Trump didn’t rule out that his tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China could spur potential recession. A potential recession could lead to job cuts in the private sector if economic disruption becomes widespread.

During Chavez-DeRemer’s confirmation hearing, Senate Democrats voiced concerns about the Trump administration’s approach to labor issues, including the mass firings of federal employees and the administration’s decision to fire the acting chair of the National Labor Relations Board.

Democrats also pushed Chavez-DeRemer for her views of the president’s billionaire partner, Elon Musk, who leads the administration’s cost-cutting initiative called the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk heads companies like Tesla and SpaceX, which have faced federal scrutiny over alleged workplace safety violations. Chavez-DeRemer largely avoided those questions, saying she was not fully briefed on the situation.

Chavez-DeRemer previously sought to portray herself as a political moderate on issues like immigration and abortion during her campaigns for Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, a swing district. During Trump’s joint address to Congress last week, Chavez-DeRemer — who endorsed the president in last year’s general election — sat beside other members of Trump’s cabinet in the front row.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/03/10/former-oregon-congresswoman-lori-chavez-deremer-is-now-americas-labor-secretary/