Washington — Former GOP Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination to lead the Labor Department under President Trump is all but certain to be advanced Thursday with the help of Democrats.
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions is set to vote Thursday morning to consider moving her nomination forward.
Facing opposition from Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a Republican member of the committee, Chavez-DeRemer’s path to confirmation once appeared in doubt. Paul had said he would oppose her because of her previous support for pro-labor policies.
Chavez-DeRemer was one of only three Republicans who supported the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or PRO Act, in the last Congress, which did not advance past introduction. The bill would have made it easier for workers to unionize. During her confirmation hearing last week, the former lawmaker addressed her prior support for the bill, saying it was “imperfect” and she backs right-to-work laws, which allow workers to choose whether or not to join a union.
Without Paul, Chavez-DeRemer needs at least one Democrat on the Senate HELP Committee to vote to advance her nomination. Republicans have a 12-11 vote majority on the panel.
Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire said in a statement this week she will support Mr. Trump’s nominee, all but ensuring that Chavez-DeRemer has the votes needed to advance barring any surprise opposition from other Republican committee members.
“Though we may not agree on everything, after meeting with Representative Chavez-DeRemer and listening to her testimony during her confirmation hearing, I believe that she is qualified to serve as the next Secretary of Labor and I look forward to working with her to support New Hampshire’s workers and small businesses,” Hassan said in a statement.
Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper told CBS News on Tuesday that he’s also considering supporting Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination. The Colorado Democrat cited Chavez-DeRemer’s support for youth apprenticeships, an issue he has worked on for nearly a decade, as a positive. And though he called her shifting stance on the PRO Act “a little disconcerting,” he acknowledged that she is “serving at the will of the president.”
