Trump’s labor secretary nominee draws some GOP skepticism as she faces her confirmation hearing

WASHINGTON — A Republican-led Senate committee is holding a confirmation hearing Wednesday for President Donald Trump’s nominee for labor secretary, Lori Chavez-DeRemer.

“In every role, my priority has been clear: to fight for the American worker And the business that drive our economy,” she said in her opening remarks.

Chavez-DeRemer, a former congresswoman from Oregon who served one term, is an unconventional pick for a GOP president. She supported a bill called the PRO Act, a top priority of labor unions, and is endorsed by the Teamsters Union.

“Working people need someone with her experience leading the agency that is tasked with protecting workers, creating good union jobs, and rebuilding our nation’s middle class,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien, who spoke at the Republican National Convention last year, said in a statement. “The Teamsters are grateful to President Trump for putting American workers first by nominating Rep. Chavez-DeRemer to this important role.”

That profile has landed her in hot water with multiple Senate Republicans, who strongly oppose the PRO Act and have cast wary eyes on Trump’s choice.

“I’m not going to support her,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told NBC News in late January. “I’m the national spokesman and lead author of the right-to-work bill. Her support for the PRO Act, which would not only oppose national right to work but would pre-empt state law on right to work — I think it’s not a good thing.”

Chavez-DeRemer addressed her involvement in shaping the PRO Act during her opening statement, saying the bill provided a way to have conversations about needed updates to labor laws.

“I recognize that that bill wasn’t perfect, and I also recognize that I am no longer representing Oregon as a lawmaker,” she said. “If confirmed, my job will be to implement President Trump’s policy division, and my guiding principle will be President Trump’s guiding principle, ensuring a level playing field for businesses, unions and, most importantly, the American worker.”

Paul predicted last month that she will lose 15 Republican votes. He is on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which is holding Wednesday’s hearing. The GOP has an 11-10 majority on the panel, which means that if Paul votes against her, Chavez-DeRemer would need Democratic votes to get a favorable committee vote.

And for now, Democrats are keeping their powder dry.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said he will introduce Chavez-DeRemer at the hearing, and he predicted that Senate GOP leaders would hold a floor vote even if Paul sinks her in committee.

“She’s wonderful,” he said, adding that while Paul is “a hard no,” he’s the only Republican currently in that camp. “He has a right to have his opinion on it. What he may not understand is this is President Trump has grown our party. He’s brought in the unions.”

“She also made it very clear she’s there serving at the will the president of the United States, and it’s his policies that she’s going to put forth,” Mullin said Tuesday. “We’re not going to agree on every issue, but you know, my wife and I been married 27 years, and we still don’t agree on every issue. But you can work past those and still have a good relationship.”

Senate Republican leaders have not said whether Chavez-DeRemer will get a floor vote if she fails in committee.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the ranking member of the HELP Committee, told NBC News last week that he had met with Chavez-DeRemer. But he wouldn’t say whether he supports her.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who chairs the committee, said Republicans — including him — find some of her past positions “problematic.” But he said that won’t be the deciding factor for him.

“Put it this way: She’s taking the direction from the president, not from her previous voting record,” Cassidy said recently.

Another issue that may come up at her hearing: Chavez-DeRemer told the committee she worked at a Planned Parenthood clinic in her early 20s, NBC News reported last week.