Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Trump’s pick for labor secretary, clears committee with votes of 3 Democrats
Washington — A Senate committee voted to advance former GOP Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination to lead the Labor Department under President Trump on Thursday with the help of a trio of Democrats.
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted 14 to 9 on Thursday to advance Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination for a vote in the full Senate. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was the sole Republican to vote against her nomination, while three Democrats — Sens. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, John Hickenlooper of Colorado and Tim Kaine of Virginia — voted in favor. GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska did not originally cast a vote, but the committee later allowed her to record herself as a “yes.”
Paul 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 needed 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.
Hassan of New Hampshire said in a statement this week that she would support Mr. Trump’s nominee, all but ensuring that Chavez-DeRemer had 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.
Hickenlooper told CBS News on Tuesday that he was 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.”
Caitlin Yilek
Source: cbsnews.com