Trump Nominates Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer as Labor Secretary

U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.). Photo courtesy of Lori Chavez-Deremer.

President-elect Donald Trump has fired off another Friday night cabinet pick, selecting Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.) to lead his Department of Labor.

“Lori has worked tirelessly with both business and labor to build America’s workforce, and support the hardworking men and women of America,” Trump wrote in a Nov. 22 statement on the nomination.

She expressed her gratitude to Trump.

“Working-class Americans finally have a lifeline with you in the White House. It’s time to bring our economy to new heights and secure a prosperous future for all hardworking Americans,” she wrote in a post on X.

Chavez-DeRemer, 56, is a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. She is married to anesthesiologist Shawn DeRemer and has two children.

Chavez-DeRemer has assisted her husband in running his anesthesia clinic chain, Anesthesia Associates Northwest.

The prospective labor secretary’s early career included service as a city council member and city council president for Happy Valley, a suburb of Portland. She went on to serve as mayor of the city, being elected in 2010 and reelected four years later.

Known as a centrist, Chavez-DeRemer was elected in 2022 to represent Oregon’s Democrat-leaning Fifth Congressional District, a territory that includes much of the eastern Willamette Valley. The freshman lost reelection several weeks ago to Democrat Janelle Bynum by roughly two points.

During her time in office, Chavez-DeRemer was one of just three Republicans who co-sponsored the PRO Act, legislation intended to expand protections for organized labor.

The bill’s official name, the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2023, commemorates the late former secretary-general of the AFL-CIO.

Rep. John James (R-Mich.) and Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) were among the Republican lawmakers who lauded the choice on X.

Lauded by Union Leaders

The nomination also won praise from Teamsters International’s Sean O’Brien. O’Brien spoke at the Republican National Convention, and his union ultimately declined to endorse either Trump or his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Nearly a year ago, you joined us for a Teamsters roundtable and pledged to listen to workers and find common ground to protect and respect labor in America. You put words into action. Now let’s grow wages and improve working conditions nationwide,” O’Brien wrote.

The National Education Association voiced support while saying her record clashed with other facets of Trump’s agenda that the group described as anti-union.

The choice has also elicited criticism from more libertarian voices, including economist Jeffrey Tucker.

“Why would Donald Trump want to empower labor bosses who oppose his economic agenda and spent masses to defeat him?” Tucker wrote on X.

Political scientist Richard Hanania wrote that Chavez-DeRemer’s record reflects “a troubling pattern of prioritizing union interests over policies that protect workers’ rights to make independent choices.”