A Senate panel advanced former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s (R-Ore.) nomination for labor secretary on Feb. 27, bringing her one step closer to confirmation.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee voted 13–9 to recommend the former congresswoman’s confirmation to the full Senate after Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), the committee’s chairman, announced his support.
“Rep. Chavez-DeRemer is ready to work with the committee to advance a pro-worker agenda at the Department of Labor,” Cassidy said. “I’m a yes on her nomination and urge my colleagues to do the same.”
Chavez-DeRemer was one of just three Republicans to co-sponsor the bill. The PRO Act, which did not come up for a vote during her term, sought to strengthen union protections and weaken the right-to-work laws that allow employees to opt out of union membership.
Chavez-DeRemer distanced herself from the bill while testifying before the committee, attributing her support for the legislation to her duty to represent the interests of her constituents.
“I recognize that that bill wasn’t perfect, and I also recognize that I’m no longer representing Oregon as a lawmaker,” she said at the time, promising to implement President Donald Trump’s agenda.
While her assurances assuaged Cassidy’s concerns, they did not alleviate those of the panel’s ranking member, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who voted against advancing her nomination.
“What we need is a secretary of Labor who is going to stand up and say, ‘We are going to take on powerful special interests. We are going to stand with the working class of this country.’” Sanders said ahead of the vote.
The senator then suggested that Chavez-DeRemer would not be calling the shots at the Department of Labor.
“Just yesterday, the president held a meeting with his Cabinet. And who was the star of the meeting? Was it the secretary of the Defense? Was it secretary of State? No, it was an unelected official who happens to be the wealthiest person on Earth. It was Elon Musk,” Sanders said, referring to the tech entrepreneur who heads up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
During Chavez-DeRemer’s confirmation hearing, Sanders and several Democrats repeatedly questioned where her allegiances would lie if confirmed—with Trump, or the Constitution.
Chavez-DeRemer repeatedly told members that she would follow the law.
“I will commit to following the law, and I do not believe the president would ever ask me to break the law,” Chavez-DeRemer said.
Her nomination now heads to the full Senate for consideration, where she needs the support of a simple majority for confirmation.
