Trump taps Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer for Labor Department: NPR

Rep. Lori Chavez-Deremer (R-OR) arrives for a meeting with House Republicans at the US Capitol Building on October 19, 2023 in Washington, DC

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President-elect Donald Trump has wiretapped the Republican congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon for the job of labor secretary.

Throughout his campaign, Trump made many promises to American workers—that he would protect their jobs, bring manufacturing back to the United States, and restore their ability to achieve the American Dream. He also proposed ending taxes on tips and overtime. Pieces of this agenda may end up on Chavez-DeRemer’s plate.

“Lori’s strong support from both the business and occupational health and safety communities will ensure that the Department of Labor can unite Americans of all backgrounds,” Trump wrote in a statement released by his campaign.

Chavez-DeRemer wrote the X earlier this week, noting Trump’s success in expanding his working-class coalition.

“This is a true political realignment,” she wrote. “We must continue to be the party of the American worker, with President Trump leading the way!”

In recent days, Teamsters President Sean O’Brien had pushed for Chavez-DeRemer’s selection, noting that she is one of only a few Republicans in Congress who have supported the PRO Act, a bill aimed at doing so easier for workers to organize unions, including by overturning state right-to-work laws that weaken unions.

Friday night, O’Brien thanked Trump for the nominationand posts a photo of himself with Trump and Chavez-DeRemer on X.

In her re-election bid this fall, Chavez-DeRemer received endorsements from a number of unions, including her local Teamsters chapter, but ended up losing her seat.

President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Sean O’Brien speaks on stage on the first day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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How will unions fare under Trump?

Trump won a sizable amount of support from union workers in the 2024 election. While O’Brien declined to endorse Trump after speaking at the Republican National Convention, he nonetheless signaled a willingness to work with the administration addressing issues that were important to his 1.3 million members.

What remains unclear is how Trump might treat unions. On the campaign trail, he joked with billionaire Elon Musk about firing striking workers and said UAW President Shawn Fain should be fired. Still, some close to Trump, including Vice President-elect JD Vance and Sen. Marco Rubio — his nominee to lead the State Department — have previously supported organized labor.

While Chavez-DeRemer was seen as the only pro-union candidate among those rumored to be under consideration by Trump, it’s hard to imagine the Trump administration taking as active a role in high-profile labor disputes as President Biden’s pick for the job have done. Most recently, Acting Labor Minister Julie Su helped broker an agreement on wages between ocean liners and dock workers on the East Coast. However, these negotiations are ongoing. A deadline to reach a final agreement comes just five days before the inauguration in January.

Future of Biden-era rules are at issue

If confirmed, Chavez-DeRemer will join a Labor Department that faces numerous legal challenges to rules and regulations issued under Biden.

Already, a federal court in Texas has struck down a rule that extended overtime to about 4 million additional workers. Others, including one that limits who can be classified as an independent contractor and another aimed at raising wages for workers on federal construction projects, are also being challenged in federal court.

There has been some expectation in business, and beyond that, that the Trump administration would either roll back these rules or decline to defend them in court. It is unclear whether Chavez-DeRemer would support these measures.