WASHINGTON, D.C. — Lori Chavez-DeRemer on March 11 was sworn in as the 30th U.S. Secretary of Labor after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a bipartisan vote of 67-32. President Donald J. Trump announced Secretary Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination on Nov. 22, 2024, noting that he looks forward to “working with her to create tremendous […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Lori Chavez-DeRemer on March 11 was sworn in as the 30th U.S. Secretary of Labor after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a bipartisan vote of 67-32.
President Donald J. Trump announced Secretary Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination on Nov. 22, 2024, noting that he looks 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.”
“I’m deeply grateful for this opportunity to continue serving my country, and I’ll work tirelessly to help President Trump put the American Worker First. This administration has a clear mandate to renew the American Dream for hardworking men and women across the country. As a small businesswoman and the daughter of a Teamster, I will act on my experience and work with business and labor to support good-paying jobs, grow our economy, and ensure every American can enjoy a comfortable retirement,” Chavez-DeRemer said in a U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) announcement. “As we strive to create a new Golden Age of prosperity, I’m ready to team up with all those committed to fighting for the American Worker. Together, under the leadership of President Trump, we will Make America Work Again.”
About Chavez-DeRemer
Chavez-DeRemer has worked in public service for more than two decades, beginning in 2002 on the Happy Valley Parks Committee in Oregon, the USDOL said. She later served on the Happy Valley City Council, became council president, and was then elected to two terms as the city’s first Latina mayor.
Under her leadership, Happy Valley became Oregon’s fastest-growing community due to initiatives that “strengthened” working families and small businesses, per the USDOL.
In 2022, Chavez-DeRemer was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, becoming the first Republican woman and one of the first Latinas elected to Congress from Oregon. She served on the House committees on Agriculture; Education and the Workforce; and Transportation and Infrastructure, “championing commonsense solutions and securing critical investments for her constituents,” the USDOL announcement stated. Chavez-DeRemer narrowly lost her reelection bid for that House seat in 2024 to Democrat Janelle Bynum.
Chavez-DeRemer is a successful small businesswoman and the first in her family to graduate from college, earning a business-administration degree. She and her husband, Dr. Shawn DeRemer, founded an anesthesia-management company and several medical clinics across the Pacific Northwest.
In the March 10 Senate confirmation vote for Chavez-DeRemer, she received the yes vote of 50 out of 53 Republican senators and 17 of the 47 senators who caucus with the Democrats, for a total of 67 yes votes.
