Lori Chavez-DeRemer, President Donald Trump’s pick for Labor Secretary, was put through her paces on Wednesday by the Health, Employment, Pensions, and Labor (HELP) Senate Committee. Originally, Chavez-DeRemer’s hearing was scheduled for last week, but was delayed, supposedly because of the inclement weather. Some reports said the delay of her confirmation indicated the nomination was in trouble, and that could well have been the case. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) had previously signaled he had no plans of voting for her, and possibly 15 other Republicans would also not be on board to confirm her. Independent professionals, small businesses, franchisers, right-to-work, and other advocacy organizations have opposed the nomination from Day 1, and the National Right to Work Foundation mounted an online and digital campaign ahead of the hearing to warn against this tortured selection that was a clear sop to labor union leaders who played agnostic during the elections.
Whatever the reason, the delay was used effectively by Chavez-DeRemer to refine her talking points and defend her PRO Act sponsorship. It was also used effectively by the leadership of both parties to get their senators in line.
And get in line they did. While Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Sen. Paul asked pointed questions specific to the concerns of independent professionals and small businesses, instead of the typical directed fire to Chavez-DeRemer’s inconsistent answers, Cassidy and Paul came off as curmudgeonly and a little perturbed. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN), and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) were on board with the nomination from the beginning. But it was the Democrats who really put on the show. While President Donald Trump’s other more qualified nominees were vilified, interrupted, and accused of all sorts of ridiculousness, Democrats were conciliatory rather than hostile toward this Trump nominee. So much for their supposed opposition.
With each question, the Democrat senators asked, they were practically entreating Chavez-DeRemer to be the bulwark against the excesses of dictator Trump and his shadow president Elon Musk.
Help us, Chavez-DeRemer, you’re our only hope.
It’s a clear sign that while the Republicans continue to push this nominee as a critical part of the Trump coalition on labor because of the favor she holds with unions and Democrats, Chavez-DeRemer could use her position to continue to wreak havoc on the coalition of right-to-work, small business, independent professionals, and franchisers who refuse to align with her union interests. It also shows the warped thinking that labor organizations, which represent less than 10 percent of the public sector workforce and six percent of the private sector workforce, are still given credence and allowed to dictate what 90 percent of American workers need or want.
Some have asked me why President Trump picked Lori for Labor Sec. As always, he has a reason for everything.
Like @DNIGabbard & @SecKennedy, Lori represents a historic Trump coalition. I’m happy to break it down.
Here’s what’s happening today ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/LbrObhye1u
— Markwayne Mullin (@SenMullin) February 19, 2025
This must change. Independent professionals, small businesses, and franchisers need to be given greater weight, as well as more seats at this table that Chavez-DeRemer and some of her supporters seem fixated on giving to unions and their waning influence.
In her opening statement and in some of her responses, Chavez-DeRemer reinforced that she was committed to putting workers first. Frankly, there was too much talk about the American “worker” and not enough discussion about the American entrepreneur, solopreneur, and business owner who are pivotal to the workforce of America and who supply opportunities for other Americans to work. “Workforce development” should incorporate that freedom to create one’s own work, not just how to aid and facilitate the employer-employee relationship. That is the essence of the technological revolution that has changed the nature of work, but too little discussion is given to the fact that at least half of America’s workforce chooses to work for themselves and wants it to stay that way: they do not want an employer. They do not need an employer. This hearing also bypassed the fact that at least 62 percent of Americans, if given the opportunity, would prefer to work for themselves.
In terms of Chavez-DeRemer’s responses, neither side appeared happy with them, but none of the usually combative senators on both sides put up much of a fuss. Democrats failed to pin her down on whether she would oppose Trump and DOGE in their efforts to audit U.S. DOL records. Republicans could not wholesale get her to renounce her affection for the PRO Act.
Chavez-DeRemer claims that she knew the PRO Act was a flawed bill that had problematic elements but that she only wanted a seat at the table so that “conversations” could be had. The very tenets of the PRO Act did not allow for conversations—It was the unions’ way or the highway. This is why it is extremely problematic that she chose to sponsor it, and this is why the bill was roundly rejected more than once.
The trucking industry, a very visible and vocal component of independent professionals and small business owners, noticed this, too.
Along with Musk and DOGE, the Democrats on the committee were also obsessed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and whether Chavez-DeRemer supports it. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) practically tried to browbeat her into agreeing with his delusions that Elon Musk’s plan was to steal information about his competitors and dig into the labor violations against Musk’s companies.
MURPHY: Will you commit to deny access to Elon Musk and any of his representatives on Labor violation investigations?
CHAVEZ-DEREMER: The President has executive power to have his coalition of advisors. I don’t have, I have not been read in on all this.
The fever dreams of the Left always border on obsession. Also telling was the Democrat questions on whether appropriations for the Department of Labor would be slashed or used for purposes that Congress did not intend. This was a particular issue with the U.S. DOL apprenticeship programs, which are essentially union-controlled. In President Trump’s first U.S. DOL, an effort was made to incorporate industry-recognized apprenticeship programs (IRAP) that were not dictated solely by DOL control, i.e., the labor unions. When Biden took office, he rescinded the program. Chavez-DeRemer wants to “double down” on the established registered apprenticeship programs, using the term “conversations” again about whether the validity of IRAPs is correct. Sen Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) insisted that Chavez-DeRemer commit to “follow the law” and only use appropriations money on apprenticeships that are union-backed and approved programs. Chavez DeRemer committed to this, saying she would follow the law.
Along with her squishyness on right-to-work, this is also troubling, especially if we truly wish to deal with America’s labor shortage and stem the abuse and overuse of H1B visas. But that is an article for another day. Hawley and junior Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL) rightly asked her questions about American companies that exploit foreign workers and use illegal child labor. This was probably the one place where Chavez-DeRemer stood 10 toes down. Her responses to both Moody and Hawley were not peppered with “umms” and carefully worded language but a commitment to use the full force of the U.S. DOL to address this issue of exploitation.
If only Chavez-DeRemer were as full-chested about unions targeting right-to-work and independent professionals, as well as protecting our ability to pursue the work that we desire without interference and coercion.
As stated in The Right-to-Work, Individual and Business Freedoms are (Finally) Leading Ideas in Congress, bills like Rep. Kevin Kiley’s (R-CA) “Modern Worker Empowerment Act” and the “Modern Worker Security Act” and Sen. Rand Paul’s “National Right to Work Act” will be required as a firewall against a department that has too long aligned against the interests of small businesses, independent professionals, and franchisers, no matter who is the Labor Secretary. That, and DOGE finding the waste and fat at the U.S. DOL and a Republican Congress doing something to correct it.
But the Uniparty has done its work. Barring a major scandal or mess-up, Lori Chavez-DeRemer will no doubt be confirmed. But a no-longer-silent independent majority will continue to hold her — and Congress’ — feet to the fire.
