U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer lost a bid for Congress this year, but may have won a far more influential post.
Supplied images of Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who unsuccessfully ran for Oregon’s 5th Congressional District position in the 2024 election.
Courtesy of the campaign
President-elect Donald Trump announced Friday that the politician from Happy Valley is his nominee for labor secretary.
“Lori has worked tirelessly with both Business and Labor to build America’s workforce, and support the hardworking men and women of America,” Trump said in an announcement of the nomination. “I look forward to working with her to create tremendous opportunity for American Workers, to expand Training and Apprenticeships, to grow wages and improve working conditions, to bring back our manufacturing jobs.”
Chavez-DeRemer, who had kept her head down as rumors of her consideration for the post swirled for days, responded in a post on the social media platform X on Friday.
“Thank you for this opportunity, President Trump!,” she said. “Working-class Americans finally have a lifeline with you in the White House. It’s time to bring our economy to new heights and secure a prosperous future for all hardworking Americans.”
Running for reelection this year in a swing district that tilts slightly Democrat, the incumbent Republican sold herself as a moderate who had prioritized Oregon’s needs over party orthodoxy. She frequently emphasized that point by highlighting endorsements from more than a dozen labor groups representing police, ironworkers, grocery store employees, firefighters, truckers and more.
“She’s got more labor union endorsements than any Republican I’ve ever seen in my life,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told an Oregon crowd while campaigning for Chavez-DeRemer earlier this year, according to The Oregonian/OregonLive.
Maybe more importantly in terms of Friday’s announcement, DeRemer endorsed Trump’s reelection.
“Lori’s strong support from both the Business and Labor communities will ensure that the Labor Department can unite Americans of all backgrounds…” Trump’s announcement said.
Chavez-DeRemer’s union support only goes so far. Large public sector unions that are powerful supporters of Oregon Democrats supported state Rep. Janelle Bynum, who won the race for Oregon’s 5th Congressional District.
“[Chavez-DeRemer] talks a big game… about workers and unions. But when it comes down to it, she has not shown up for us when we needed her in Congress,” Melissa Unger, executive director of the state’s largest union SEIU Local 503, said at a press event during the campaign.
One large labor group said Friday it was tentatively hopeful about Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination.
“During her time in Congress, Lori Chavez-DeRemer voted against gutting the Department of Education, against school vouchers, and against cuts to education funding,” the National Education Association said in a statement. The organization said it hoped Chavez-DeRemer would pledge to support workers despite Trump policies it said had been hostile to labor.
As a potential labor secretary, Chavez-DeRemer would oversee the Labor Department’s workforce and its budget. She would be in a position to put forth priorities that impact workers’ wages, health, safety and ability to unionize, and employers’ rights to fire employees, among other responsibilities.
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Chavez-DeRemer would become the latest Oregonian to assume a role in a presidential cabinet.
Among others: Hotelier Gordon Sondland served as ambassador to the European Union during Trump’s first term, before later testifying against the president in an impeachment trial. And the late Neil Goldschmidt, then a former Portland mayor and future Oregon governor, served as transportation secretary under President Jimmy Carter.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.