Trump Labor Secretary Pick Advances Closer to Confirmation (1)

President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the US Department of Labor advanced out of committee Thursday, clearing her path to confirmation before the full Senate.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee voted 14-9 to approve the former Oregon Republican lawmaker’s nomination.

During her nomination hearing last week, Lori Chavez-DeRemer backtracked on her support of the union-backed Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which aims to broadly expand collective bargaining rights. Chavez-DeRemer said she only co-sponsored the bill when serving as a member of the House in order to have a seat at the table and be part of the conversation on the legislation.

Her support of the bill drew concerns from business groups and some Republican lawmakers, namely Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who sits on the HELP committee and vehemently opposes the PRO Act’s provision to preempt state right-to-work laws.

Trump publicly acknowledged that Chavez-DeRemer received such criticism during a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference Feb. 22 and said she was a moderate pick to pay back union members who voted for him in the last election.

“We had tremendous support so I think it’s nice to give them a person in the center,” Trump said.

Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination is expected to swiftly move through the full Senate.

Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said Wednesday that he’s confident Chavez-DeRemer will be confirmed, predicting she’d move on the floor as soon as next week.