Dive Brief:
- President-elect Donald Trump on Friday evening named Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore., as his nominee for secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor. Chavez-DeRemer, who served one term in Congress, lost her recent re-election bid to Democrat Janelle Bynum.
- Trump said he looks forward to working with her to expand apprenticeships, grow wages and improve working conditions.
- Teamsters President Sean O’Brien voiced support for Chavez-DeRemer, saying she previously pledged “to listen to workers and find common ground to protect and respect labor in America.”
Dive Insight:
Chavez-DeRemer is one of several latest cabinet picks by the president-elect, joining TV celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz (administrator for the U.S Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services), WWE co-founder and former Small Business Association Administrator Linda McMahon (education secretary) and Fox Business host and former U.S. Rep. Sean Dufffy, R-Wisc., (transportation secretary), among others.
Previously, G. Roger King, senior labor and employment counsel for HR Policy Association, told HR Dive that Society for Human Resource Management President and CEO Johnny C. Taylor Jr. was in the running for the U.S. Department of Labor cabinet seat.
The Department of Labor hasn’t had a Senate-confirmed leader since Marty Walsh left the secretary role in early 2023. Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su was nominated to replace him, but not confirmed.
