Will Trump’s pick for labor secretary be able to act on her pro-union ideas?

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for labor secretary, Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR), is a pro-union Republican, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Trump’s administration will be pro-worker.

Although Cabinet secretaries can do their best to influence the commander-in-chief, they ultimately have to execute on the president’s policies, multiple labor experts told Vox. If they disagree with the president — especially if they refuse to implement a new policy — there’s a high likelihood that they’d be removed from that position. 

Given Trump’s infamous lack of interest in details, he may give Chavez-DeRemer latitude with the daily tasks of the agency. That means Chavez-DeRemer could shift the agency in a more pro-worker direction in the regular operations she’ll oversee. Any major rule changes, however, are likely to need the backing of the president. 

As a result, it’s not evident that having a labor secretary more supportive of unions will translate to concrete protections in favor of workers if Trump himself isn’t on board. In its first term, the Trump administration took a decidedly anti-worker stance, undoing workplace safety regulations and curtailing overtime protections. If the president-elect chooses to do the same in his second term, Chavez-DeRemer would have little recourse but to implement his policies or face the consequences. 

“One thing to keep in mind is that the secretaries serve at the pleasure of the president. … It is not an independent role,” says Heidi Shierholz, a former chief economist in the Labor Department during the Obama administration and the president of the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank. “There’s a real, very clear restriction on how far they can go, away from what Trump and his key advisers want.”

Trump’s pick is more pro-labor than he is

Chavez-DeRemer, a first-term Congress member from a swing district in Oregon, lost a tight race for reelection in 2024. 

She has a solid pro-worker record that differs notably from many of the positions Trump has previously backed. Chavez-DeRemer is one of just five House Republicans who supported the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, a bill that would expand workers’ ability to unionize that Trump’s White House advisers recommended he veto. She also backed the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act, legislation that shields public sector workers’ ability to unionize, which conservatives have also chafed against. And she voted against a GOP effort to overturn a Biden administration labor rule related to workers’ retirement savings, Bloomberg Law reports.

“Unions aren’t the enemy of small businesses, they’re a partner,” Chavez-DeRemer, who is the daughter of a Teamsters union member, previously said in a House Education and the Workforce Committee meeting, acknowledging that she’s in the “minority” in her party. During her 2024 House race, Chavez-DeRemer picked up the support of more than 20 local unions in her area, though her Democratic opponent garnered the backing of some of the larger national ones. 

“She’s got more labor union endorsements than any Republican I’ve ever seen in my life,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said during a Chavez-DeRemer campaign event in Oregon City. 

Because of her track record, Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination was heavily cheered by Sean O’Brien, the head of the Teamsters, who’d reportedly urged Trump to choose her for the role. “Thank you @realDonaldTrump for putting American workers first by nominating Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer for US Labor Secretary,” O’Brien said in a post on X. “You put words into action.”

While Chavez-DeRemer has been more supportive of unions than most Republicans, her overall record is nuanced: She was given a 10 percent rating by the AFL-CIO for her 2023 House votes, with the union dinging her on votes she took on policies that could harm recipients of unemployment insurance and that would allow employers more leeway in the types of health care plans they offer. 

“There’s the whole world of all of the other employment rights, minimum wage, overtime, [Equal Employment Opportunity] rights, paycheck equity, and paid leave. And she hasn’t co-sponsored any of those bills,” Judy Conti, the government affairs director for the National Employment Law Project, told Vox. 

Despite this, though, she still has marked differences from Trump. 

“This record stands in stark contrast to Donald Trump’s anti-worker, anti-union record, and his extreme Project 2025 agenda that would gut workplace protections, make it harder for workers to unionize, and diminish the voice of working people,” National Education Association President Becky Pringle said in a statement. 

During his first administration, Trump proposed a number of anti-worker rules including allowing servers’ management to take more of their tips and allowing companies more leeway for wage theft. He’s spoken about firing workers who are on strike, a practice that’s often illegal, in favorable terms. And he’s complained about how much he hated paying his own employees overtime. 

It’s not clear Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination will make a policy difference 

Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination may not make a significant policy difference if the president-elect chooses to pursue the same types of labor policies he championed during his first term. 

Because the president has expansive influence over the policies that agencies roll out, secretaries often have to implement the rules that they are asked to, even if they disagree with them. As Politico has detailed, secretaries can be “marginalized” by the administrations they’re in, and even rarely consulted for their advice. 

“If a Cabinet secretary disagrees with an executive action, they have decision-making autonomy, but they likely would face strong White House pressure to resign,” says Meena Bose, the dean of public policy at Hofstra University. 

If confirmed as a member of his Cabinet, Chavez-DeRemer would be able to use her platform and position to try to influence Trump and elevate workers’ demands. Whether she might be able to institute concrete policy changes, however, will likely depend on Trump’s openness to such ideas. 

The same would be the case in the event of a strike. The labor secretary can play a role in mediating high-profile disputes,  like the dock workers’ strike in 2024 or the rail workers’ strike in 2022. Acting Labor Secretary Judy Su was able to engage in negotiations for the dock workers’ strike only because President Joe Biden allowed her to, however. Chavez-DeRemer could use her perch to advise Trump in the case of future strikes, but her involvement in ending them would depend on whether he supports her being involved. 

If confirmed, Chavez-DeRemer could have other technical ways to influence policy. One such avenue could be through the labor secretary’s oversight of the Office of Labor and Management Standards, which has been leveraged by Republican administrations in the past to subject unions to extraordinary administrative scrutiny, says Conti. It’s possible Chavez-DeRemer could direct the office not to target unions in this way.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), a separate entity from the Labor Department, will also play a major role in establishing policies for unions and organizing. So, Trump’s staffing for NLRB could also be a notable factor in shaping the administration’s approach toward labor.  

Overall, however, experts told Vox that Cabinet secretaries only have so much leeway to break with their administration. As a result, Trump’s decision to select a more pro-worker labor secretary could be more of a messaging maneuver than a substantive one.