‘We Are Alarmed’: Pro-Business Groups Freak Out Over Trump’s Pick for Labor Secretary

Screenshot/Lori Chavez-DeRemer/X

A representative for an anti-union advocacy group said she was “alarmed” Friday after President-elect Donald Trump tapped pro-labor Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) to run the Department of Labor.

In a Friday evening statement posted to Truth Social, Trump described Chavez-DeRemer, who lost her reelection bid earlier this month, as an ally for business.

“Lori’s strong support from both the Business and Labor communities will ensure that the Labor Department can unite Americans of all backgrounds behind our Agenda for unprecedented National Success – Making America Richer, Wealthier, Stronger and more Prosperous than ever before!” Trump said.

As The Washington Post noted, the congresswoman supported the PRO Act, which would have protected employees’ rights to organize if it had passed during her lone term representing Oregon’s fifth congressional district.

Immediately after Trump’s statement, the Post reported numerous “powerful business groups” announced their opposition:

Powerful business groups, including the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, a group of hundreds of organizations representing millions of businesses, reacted in strong opposition to rumors of her potential nomination.

“We were alarmed by press reports that President-Elect Trump is considering Rep. Chavez-DeRemer to lead the Department of Labor,” Kristen Swearingen, chair of the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, said in a statement after news broke that Trump was considering Chavez-DeRemer.

The Pro Act “has been repeatedly rejected on a bipartisan basis by Congress and opposed by business groups representing almost every industry,” Swearingen said.

In his statement about the congresswoman, Trump added:

Lori has worked tirelessly with both Business and Labor to build America’s workforce, and support the hardworking men and women of America. 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.