Former Rep. Lori Chavez DeRemer is one step closer to becoming Labor secretary after the Senate HELP Committee advanced her to a full floor vote. She needed at least one Democrat to rescue her nomination.
The panel voted 13-9 on Thursday to advance Chavez-DeRemer after Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) joined Republicans in supporting President Donald Trump’s pick to lead DOL.
The trio’s support offset a “no” vote from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who ultimately voted against Chavez-DeRemer because of her previous co-sponsorship of the PRO Act.
Kaine said he would support Chavez-DeRemer because she is likely better than any alternative Trump would nominate in her place — pointing to his first term Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, who resigned in 2019 amid renewed scrutiny of his handling of a sex crimes case involving Jeffrey Epstein when he was a federal prosecutor.
“I have some concerns … but it just gets worse from here,” he said.
The nomination will now head to the Senate floor, where Chavez-DeRemer is almost certain to be confirmed despite the prospect of additional “no” votes from Republicans concerned about her labor background.
