Pro-union Trump nominee faces Senate grilling as at least one Republican vows to oppose her

Former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a pro-union Republican, will go before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) on Wednesday for a confirmation hearing to be the next Secretary of Labor. 

President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Labor will be questioned by committee senators beginning at 10 a.m. 

Chavez-DeRemer has already found an opponent in Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who is a member of HELP.

“Her support for the PRO Act, which would not only oppose national right to work, but it would preempt state law on right to work,” he previously told reporters. “I think it’s not a good thing, and it’d be sort of hard for me since it’s a big issue for me to support her. So I won’t support her.”

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The Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act) is a piece of legislation designed to protect union workers and was introduced in Congress several years ago. It would effectively kill state-level laws that prohibit employers and unions from requiring workers to pay union dues as a condition of their employment. Republicans have traditionally supported such Right-to-Work laws, and many have opposed the PRO Act for that reason.

As of the night before the confirmation hearing, Paul was still planning to oppose Trump’s pick. “If she wanted to make a public statement saying that her support for the PRO Act was incorrect and she no longer does, then I’d think about her nomination,” he told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

 Fox News Digital asked a representative for Chavez-DeRemer whether her support for the bill had changed but did not receive a response. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., foreshadowed the questions Chavez-DeRemer would face while speaking with reporters recently. 

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“[S]upport for the PRO Act is not something that most Republicans have tolerated in the past, but I think she’s attempted to address that, and my hope is that she can further clarify her position on some of those issues when she goes through the hearing process,” Thune said.  

If Paul chooses to vote “no” or abstain from voting at the committee level, Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination could fail to get a majority of “yes” votes or end up tied. However, it could still be reported and scheduled for a floor vote, without a favorable recommendation from the committee. In this case, she would need to amass 60 votes in the full Senate to move on to confirmation. 

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Following his election in November, Trump announced Chavez-DeRemer as his choice to lead the Labor Department. 

“Lori has worked tirelessly with both Business and Labor to build America’s workforce, and support the hardworking men and women of America,” he said in a statement at the time. “I look forward to working with her to create tremendous opportunity for American Workers, to expand Training and Apprenticeships, to grow wages and improve working conditions, to bring back our Manufacturing jobs. Together, we will achieve historic cooperation between Business and Labor that will restore the American Dream for Working Families.”

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“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!”