Sen. Maggie Hassan, right, shown here during an event in Manchester with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen on Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, was the first Democrat to announce she’d vote to advance the pick of Lori Chavez-DeRemer as labor secretary. (Photo by William Skipworth/New Hampshire Bulletin)
U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan and two of her Democratic colleagues on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, or HELP, Committee joined Republicans to vote, 14-9, Thursday to advance President Donald Trump’s nominee for labor secretary.
Trump picked Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a former Republican congresswoman and suburban mayor from Oregon, to lead the Department of Labor. Chavez-DeRemer is the daughter of a Teamsters Union member and, as a congresswoman, supported legislation championed by unions. As such, her nomination has scrambled the typical party lines, with Republicans expressing skepticism or downright opposition over her union stance and some Democrats relieved to see a pro-union member added to this administration.
It was that pro-union work that caused one of the committee’s Republicans, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, to oppose her nomination. Paul said he was concerned about her support of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act — a bill that sought to expand the rights of workers to unionize and limit employers’ ability to thwart unionization attempts — and announced he would vote against her.
Without universal support from the GOP committee members, Chavez-DeRemer needed Democratic support to advance out of committee and receive a floor vote, giving Democrats leverage. However, on Tuesday, Hassan became the first to announce she’d vote to advance the pick to a floor vote of the full Senate. She was followed by Sens. Tim Kaine, of Virginia, and John Hickenlooper, of Colorado.
“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,” Hassan said in a statement first reported by POLITICO.
Hassan’s decision was praised by unions in her home state. SEA/SEIU 1984, which represents state employees in New Hampshire, said, in a social media post they were “grateful for @SenatorHassan’s leadership, being the first Democratic Senator to announce her support.” The union also thanked Kaine and Hickenlooper and told Chavez-DeRemer that “we are here to help you every step of the way.”
Kaine said he supported Chavez-DeRemer because he believes she’s likely better than any alternative Trump nominee.
The liberals that didn’t vote for Chavez-DeRemer took the vote as an opportunity to protest Trump and Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who, after donating hundreds of millions of dollars to Trump’s campaign, has been given wide-ranging power in the Trump administration.
“The next secretary of labor, the next secretary of education, the next secretary of housing, the next secretary of the treasury is Elon Musk. Let us understand that reality and not play along with this charade,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont and the committee’s ranking member, said before the vote. “Does anyone here really think that any secretary of labor, any secretary of education, is going to make decisions by himself or herself?”
Another New England lawmaker, Sen. Chris Murphy, of Connecticut, questioned Chavez-DeRemer about whether she would stand up to Musk, who also owns huge chunks or the entirety of Tesla, SpaceX, and X (formerly known as Twitter). He asked if she’d commit to denying Musk access to OSHA data and information, pointing out that several of Musk’s companies have had serious alleged worker safety and labor law violations.
“I work for the president of the United States, if confirmed, and I will serve at the pleasure of the president on this issue,” Chavez-DeRemer responded.
Chavez-DeRemer will now receive a floor vote of the entire Senate, which will determine whether she is confirmed and allowed to lead the Department of Labor.
Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination marks a shift in the GOP as Trump tries to distance himself from anti-union policies like right-to-work that may alienate working voters.
Among other Trump Cabinet nominees, Hassan voted to confirm Marco Rubio as secretary of state, Kristi Noem as secretary of homeland security, Doug Burgum as interior secretary, John Ratcliffe as CIA director, and Scott Bessent as treasury secretary. She voted against Pete Hegseth as defense secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary, Kash Patel as FBI director, Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence, and Russell Vought as budget chief.