Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Trump's Labor Department pick, to face questions from senators

Caption

Former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore., President Trump's pick for secretary of labor, arrives to meet with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Capitol Hill on Jan. 14. / AP

We're following the confirmation hearings for the incoming Trump administration. See our full politics coverage, and follow NPR's Trump's Terms podcast or sign up for our Politics newsletter to stay up to date.

Who: Lori M. Chavez-DeRemer

Nominated for: secretary of labor

You might know her from: In 2022, she was elected to represent Oregon's 5th Congressional District, flipping a blue seat to red. This election made her the first Republican woman from Oregon to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. But she lost her bid for reelection in 2024 to Democrat Janelle Bynum, resulting in the seat flipping back to blue.

• Before her election to Congress, Chavez-DeRemer served on the Happy Valley, Ore., city council from 2005 to 2010, where she was president beginning in 2007, according to her congressional bio. She was then elected mayor of Happy Valley in November 2010 and was reelected in 2018 for another four-year term.
  
• During her time in Congress, she received support from unions for her 2024 reelection campaign. She also advocated for the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, a bill designed to facilitate the formation of labor unions by overturning state Right to Work laws, which undermine union strength.
  
• Her nomination for secretary of labor has garnered praise from various unions, including Teamsters President Sean O'Brien.

What does this role do? The secretary leads the Labor Department and its agencies, including the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs. The department also enforces more than 180 federal labor policies and laws such as those pertaining to hourly and overtime pay, unemployment insurance and workers' rights to safe working environments. It is the 11th Cabinet position in the presidential line of succession.

In his last full year in office, President Joe Biden requested that the fiscal year 2025 budget include $13.9 billion and support for 15,762 full-time employees.