Report: Oregon US Rep. Chavez-DeRemer being considered for labor secretary

By Julia Shumway, Oregon Capital Chronicle

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who narrowly lost her reelection bid earlier this month, may be in the running for labor secretary in the coming Donald Trump administration. 

Politico reported Tuesday that Teamsters President Sean O’Brien and Republican leaders on Capitol Hill are pushing for Chavez-DeRemer to head the agency. The Teamsters council in Oregon, Idaho and southwest Washington was one of about 20 unions to back Chavez-DeRemer in her unsuccessful run for reelection, and her father was a Teamster. 

A spokesman for Chavez-DeRemer did not respond to a call or email Tuesday afternoon. But the congresswoman took to X on Tuesday to praise Trump, complete with the president-elect’s distinctive use of capitalization.

“President Trump expanded on his Working Class coalition by speaking directly to hardworking Americans,” Chavez-DeRemer tweeted. “This is a true political realignment. We must continue to be the party of the American Worker, with President Trump leading the way!”

She also congratulated Trump on his win on Nov. 15 — only the second time this year Chavez-DeRemer mentioned Trump on her social media pages this year after endorsing him for president in March.

She publicly endorsed him and praised his 2017 tax cuts in debates, but otherwise did little else to align herself with Trump during her campaign against Democratic state Rep. Janelle Bynum, who repeatedly blasted Chavez-DeRemer for “standing by her man.”  The Republican also didn’t refer to Trump on X once in 2023 and stopped mentioning him on the platform after her primary victory in 2022. 

U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., tweeted a link to Politico’s article, saying Chavez-DeRemer would make a fantastic labor secretary. 

“She understands the importance of having pro-growth, pro-labor and pro-business policies that support America’s workforce, respect organized labor and ensure shared prosperity,” Lawler wrote. 

Chavez-DeRemer is one of only three House Republicans to cosponsor the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or PRO Act, a Democratic priority which would weaken state “right-to-work” laws to allow unions to collect dues from all employees, increase penalties for employers who violate labor law and strengthen employees’ legal rights to join a union.