Latest news with #ProAct
Axios
04-03-2025
- Business
- Axios
Chavez-DeRemer's labor chief nomination advances with Dem support
Former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer 's nomination to serve as Labor Secretary advanced to the Senate floor Thursday with Democratic support. Why it matters: Chavez-DeRemer is the first Trump Cabinet nominee who has had to rely on Democratic support to clear committee consideration after Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) voted no. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions vote was 14-9, with Democrats Maggie Hassan (N.H.), John Hickenlooper (Colo.) and Tim Kaine (Va.) joining the committee's Republicans — with the exception of Paul — in voting yes. Catch up fast: Paul has cited Chavez-DeRemer's past support for the Pro Act, which would weaken states' anti-union laws and give more power to organized workers in explaining his opposition. She was one of just three Republicans to co-sponsor the bill, which is reviled by conservative groups, most Republicans and the business lobby, during her one term in the House. Zoom out: Trump's decision to tap Chavez-DeRemer, whose father was a Teamsters member, underscores his efforts to chip away at Democrats' decades-old coalition with organized labor. Trump campaigned as a pro-worker and somewhat pro-labor candidate — though he was a decidedly anti-union president in his first term. Teamsters president Sean O'Brien pushed for Chavez-DeRemer's nomination. Go deeper: GOP fight coming over labor unions Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Dem support likely to push Trump's pro-union labor pick past key vote
President Donald Trump's nominee for labor secretary is expected to pass a key vote before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) on Thursday after picking up Democrat support from Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H. Lori Chavez-DeRemer's past support for the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act jeopardized her confirmation last week, when Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said he would not vote for her if she continued to support the PRO Act. Paul's reluctance meant Chavez-DeRemer would likely need a Democrat's vote to pass a key confirmation hurdle. Hassan's support, as a Democrat on the HELP Committee, all but confirms Chavez-DeRemer will pass through her committee vote. "The Department of Labor plays an integral role in supporting workers and small businesses alike, and after hearing significant support from constituents, including members of labor unions in New Hampshire, I will support Representative Chavez-DeRemer's nomination as Secretary of Labor," Hassan shared in a statement to Fox News Digital. Trump's Nominee For Labor Secretary Walks Back Support For Pro Act, Embraces Republican Right-to-work Laws Hassan admitted that she "may not agree on everything" with Chavez-DeRemer, but she is "qualified" to serve and earned "significant support" from New Hampshire voters. Read On The Fox News App Senate Confirms Trump Nominee Jamieson Greer As Us Trade Representative "Though we may not agree on everything, after meeting with Representative Chavez-DeRemer and listening to her testimony during her confirmation hearing, I believe that she is qualified to serve as the next secretary of labor, and I look forward to working with her to support New Hampshire's workers and small businesses," Hassan added. Chavez-DeRemer supported the PRO Act as a representative for Oregon's 5th Congressional District but told senators during her confirmation hearing that she no longer supports overturning Republican-supported right-to-work laws under the PRO Act. The PRO Act would effectively kill state-level laws that prevent employers and unions from requiring workers to pay union dues as a condition of their employment. Republicans oppose the PRO Act for overturning right-to-work laws. Chavez-DeRemer could still earn back Paul's vote after she distanced herself from the PRO Act during her Senate hearing. With Hassan's support, Chavez-DeRemer is no longer reliant on Paul for confirmation. "If she wanted to make a public statement saying that her support for the PRO Act was incorrect and she no longer does, then I'd think about her nomination," Paul told Fox News Digital in a statement ahead of Chavez-DeRemer's hearing. "So you no longer support the aspect of the PRO Act that would have overturned state right-to-work laws?" Paul asked during the hearing. "Yes, sir," she replied. Paul's office did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment on how he will vote in committee today. Chavez-DeRemer testified before the HELP Committee on Feb. 19. If the committee votes to send Chavez-DeRemer's nomination before the full Senate, Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., can file a motion to end Senate floor debate on the nominee, triggering a cloture vote to halt deliberations. Once debate closes, senators cast their final confirmation vote. During her hearing, Chavez-DeRemer advocated for trade school investments to expand "educational pathways beyond the traditional four-year degree" to strengthen the American workforce. She said she is committed to leveling the playing field for American businesses, workers and unions. Chavez-DeRemer also thanked Trump and credited him with the "single greatest political achievement of our time" in building a "new coalition of working-class Americans." "President Trump has united a new coalition of working-class Americans like never before. With 59.6% of Teamsters backing him, historic support from African-American and Latino voters, and record-breaking turnout in once-solid blue cities and states, Americans are speaking loud and clear. They are calling for action, progress and leadership that puts the American worker first," Chavez-DeRemer said. Trump nominated Chavez-DeRemer for secretary of labor less than three weeks after he was elected president. "Lori has worked tirelessly with both Business and Labor to build America's workforce, and support the hardworking men and women of America," Trump wrote. "I look forward to working with her to create tremendous opportunity for American Workers, to expand training and apprenticeships, to grow wages and improve working conditions, to bring back our manufacturing jobs. Together, we will achieve historic cooperation between Business and Labor that will restore the American Dream for Working Families," he article source: Dem support likely to push Trump's pro-union labor pick past key vote
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump brings GOP lawmaker and Teamsters president together after 'stand your butt up' feud
President Donald Trump has helped a GOP lawmaker and national union leader finally squash their feud after making headlines in 2023 for their verbal spat on the Senate floor, telling each other to "stand" their "butt(s) up," during an argument. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., and Teamsters President Sean O'Brien made headlines in November 2023 for their heated argument after the representative confronted the union boss on his critical tweets. Now, the two men say President Trump has brought them together after a phone call. "Even after President Trump and Sean O'Brien sat down and talked, one of the first phone calls he made was to me and said, 'Hey Markwayne, I think you guys will get along. You guys need to talk because I think we got a place for the unions to come in and it starts with Sean. Why don't you guys just sit down and break bread together?' Sean and I broke bread together for the first time, and we have truly built a friendship ever since then," Rep. Markwayne Mullin told "Hannity" on Thursday. The pair is now joining together to endorse Trump nominee Lori Chavez-DeRemer. "We are working very hard, both of us, to do what's right for the American worker," Teamsters president Sean O'Brien told Fox News. "Now, we can agree to disagree on right to work. We can agree to disagree on the Pro Act, but the task at hand right now is getting Lori Chavez-DeRemer confirmed, and we're going to work together. Look, we did have a fight. We did have an argument, but it is what it is. It's in the past." Read On The Fox News App Gop Lawmaker Reveals Backstory Of Nearly Coming To Blows With Union Boss At Senate Hearing "You tweeted at me one, two, three, four, five times," video shows Mullin addressing the leader during their viral confrontation. "Let me read what the last one said. It said, 'Greedy CEO who pretends like he's self-made.' Sorry, I wish he was in the truck with me when I was building my plumbing company myself. ... 'Quit the tough guy act in these Senate hearings. You know where to find me any place, any time, cowboy.' Sir, this is a time, this is a place. You want to run your mouth. We can be two consenting adults. We can finish it here." O'Brien responded he was fine with that, and Mullin said, "Well, stand your butt up, then." "You stand your butt up," O'Brien responded, causing chaos on the floor with interruptions from onlookers to stop. Click To Get The Fox News App Mullin reflected that his new "friendship" with O'Brien represents unity under the commander-in-chief. "What Sean and I's friendship represents is President Trump reaching outside the norm of the political boundaries that the Republican Party had put on ourselves and brought a coalition together, like with Tulsi Gabbard, with Bobby."Original article source: Trump brings GOP lawmaker and Teamsters president together after 'stand your butt up' feud
Fox News
21-02-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Trump brings GOP lawmaker and Teamsters president together after 'stand your butt up' feud
President Donald Trump has helped a GOP lawmaker and national union leader finally squash their feud after making headlines in 2023 for their verbal spat on the Senate floor, telling each other to "stand" their "butt(s) up," during an argument. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., and Teamsters President Sean O'Brien made headlines in November 2023 for their heated argument after the representative confronted the union boss on his critical tweets. Now, the two men say President Trump has brought them together after a phone call. "Even after President Trump and Sean O'Brien sat down and talked, one of the first phone calls he made was to me and said, 'Hey Markwayne, I think you guys will get along. You guys need to talk because I think we got a place for the unions to come in and it starts with Sean. Why don't you guys just sit down and break bread together?' Sean and I broke bread together for the first time, and we have truly built a friendship ever since then," Rep. Markwayne Mullin told "Hannity" on Thursday. The pair is now joining together to endorse Trump nominee Lori Chavez-DeRemer. "We are working very hard, both of us, to do what's right for the American worker," Teamsters president Sean O'Brien told Fox News. "Now, we can agree to disagree on right to work. We can agree to disagree on the Pro Act, but the task at hand right now is getting Lori Chavez-DeRemer confirmed, and we're going to work together. Look, we did have a fight. We did have an argument, but it is what it is. It's in the past." "You tweeted at me one, two, three, four, five times," video shows Mullin addressing the leader during their viral confrontation. "Let me read what the last one said. It said, 'Greedy CEO who pretends like he's self-made.' Sorry, I wish he was in the truck with me when I was building my plumbing company myself. ... 'Quit the tough guy act in these Senate hearings. You know where to find me any place, any time, cowboy.' Sir, this is a time, this is a place. You want to run your mouth. We can be two consenting adults. We can finish it here." O'Brien responded he was fine with that, and Mullin said, "Well, stand your butt up, then." "You stand your butt up," O'Brien responded, causing chaos on the floor with interruptions from onlookers to stop. Mullin reflected that his new "friendship" with O'Brien represents unity under the commander-in-chief. "What Sean and I's friendship represents is President Trump reaching outside the norm of the political boundaries that the Republican Party had put on ourselves and brought a coalition together, like with Tulsi Gabbard, with Bobby."
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's labor nominee walks back pro-union stances
Donald Trump's labor secretary nominee on Wednesday distanced herself from previous pro-union stances that sparked Republican criticism, as she called herself a champion of the US president's "America First agenda." Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a former Oregon congresswoman, was one of just three Republicans to cosponsor the Pro Act -- the cornerstone of legislative efforts to strengthen US labor law and reverse the longtime decline of private sector unionization. But on Wednesday she explicitly renounced key elements of the bill, including measures to counter "right-to-work" laws in more than two dozen US states that let workers decide whether to pay union dues. Describing the Pro Act as "imperfect," Chavez-DeRemer said she backed the bill in 2024 to respect the wishes of her Oregon congressional district and because she wanted a seat at the table during the debate. Her shift at her confirmation hearing appeared to win over key Republicans, including chairman Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. But many Democrats appeared troubled by her unwillingness to back a higher minimum wage or to comment on Trump's firing of officials at the National Labor Relations Board that have left the agency unable to enforce labor rulings. "I'm gathering that you no longer support the Pro Act is what I hear," said progressive Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Senators also pushed Chavez-DeRemer to defend Trump's flurry of executive actions, including cuts to the federal government, which critics have denounced as unlawful. "We are moving toward an authoritarian society where one person has enormous power," Sanders said. "Will you have the courage to say, Mr President, 'That's unconstitutional. That's wrong?'" Democrats further pressed Chavez-DeRemer on Trump ally Elon Musk's legally murky "Department of Government Efficiency," which has stationed staff at the Labor Department and other agencies, while cutting thousands of jobs. Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy said it was "deeply unethical" that Musk was in a position to potentially influence Labor Department workplace safety investigations into his companies and competitors. "The president has the executive power to exercise it as he sees fit," said Chavez-DeRemer, adding that she is not a lawyer and would consult Labor Department attorneys on questions about Musk. Teamsters president Sean O'Brien, who backed the nomination, said Chavez-DeRemer "crushed it" during the hearing. But Erica Smiley, executive director of labor rights group Jobs With Justice, said the hearing proved the nominee "cannot be counted on to stand up for workers." "Former Rep Chavez-DeRemer refused to commit to supporting workers' freedom to organize or to fight for workers to be paid a living wage," she added. "That is simply unacceptable." jmb/bjt
