Lori Chavez-DeRemer positions herself as the “for workers” Republican in a populist administration. She talks directly about wages, job security, and workplace standards — not just corporate growth numbers. Her core message is simple: the federal government should defend the people who do the work, not just the people who write the checks.
She’s unusual for a modern Republican Labor Secretary because she openly courts union audiences and uses pro-worker language. She presents herself as someone who will sit down with blue-collar locals, nurses, cops, logistics workers, and say: the system has been rigged against you, and Washington forgot who actually keeps the country running.
At the same time, she’s aggressive on immigration and hiring enforcement. She argues that taxpayer-funded training programs, job placement services, and other workforce benefits should go first to U.S. citizens and legal residents, and that employers who rely on unauthorized labor are undercutting wages and safety for everyone else. She pitches that not just as border policy but as labor fairness.
Inside the Cabinet, she acts as a bridge. Culturally she appeals to the populist wing by talking about “forgotten workers,” but she also reassures traditional Republicans by saying she won’t use the Labor Department to smash right-to-work laws or hand unions sweeping new federal powers.
Moderate Republican
Priorities / Influence
- “Protect the American Worker”: She casts the Labor Department as a shield for U.S. workers and legal residents, not just a neutral referee.
- Workforce Programs for Legal Workers: She argues that training, placement, and benefits funded by taxpayers should prioritize workers who are legally authorized to hold those jobs.
- Union-Adjacent Messaging: She’s one of the only high-profile Republicans who talks about organized labor in mostly respectful terms, saying both parties forgot wage earners while arguing about ideology.
- Employer Enforcement: She blames not just unauthorized workers, but also companies that build a business model around paying them less, calling that a direct attack on wage floors and safety standards.
- “Working-Class Republicanism”: Her line is that the Trump coalition is now the home of cops, nurses, truckers, and warehouse workers — not just business owners — and the Labor Department should reflect that.
Controversies
- Immigration Framing: Critics say she’s turning labor enforcement into immigration enforcement and using “protect American workers” to justify crackdowns and raids.
- Talk vs. Leverage: Union leaders like her tone, but some say she isn’t actually forcing anti-union employers to raise wages — she just blames migrants and blue cities.
- States’ Rights: She calms Republicans by saying she won’t use D.C. power to kill right-to-work laws. Organized labor says that undercuts her credibility as a true pro-worker ally.
- Culture-War Lens: Supporters hear an authentic working-class voice. Opponents say she’s really just channeling the administration’s border and crime messaging through a Labor Department mic.
- Selective Aggression: She’s publicly brutal toward blue-state “sanctuary employers,” less so toward GOP-aligned industries accused of wage theft.
Senate Confirmation Vote
Votes For
- Republicans: 51
- Democrats: 16
- Independents: 0
Votes Against
- Republicans: 2
- Democrats: 26
- Independents: 2