Senate Confirms Chavez-DeRemer as Secretary of Labor

On Monday, the Senate voted to confirm Lori Chavez-DeRemer as Secretary of Labor. Chavez-DeRemer is a former Republican member of the House of Representatives from Oregon. She was also previously the mayor of Happy Valley, Oregon, a city of 28,000 southeast of Portland.

During her term in Congress, Chavez-DeRemer sponsored or cosponsored bills to support the development of firefighter turnout gear that is free of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), advance research on communicable disease in air travel, enhance safety requirements for trains transporting hazardous materials, protect first responders from secondary exposure to fentanyl and other substances, and establish grants to develop the forestry workforce.

At her confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Chavez-DeRemer distanced herself from the 2023 Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act, a bill she had cosponsored. Her previous support for the bill cost her the votes of some Republican Senators.

Chavez-DeRemer began her political career on the Happy Valley Parks Committee and later served on the city council, eventually becoming council president. In 2022, following two terms as Happy Valley mayor, she became the first Republican woman to be elected to the House from Oregon. She was defeated in her bid for reelection in 2024.

More information about Chavez-DeRemer is available from the Labor Department website and Congress.gov.