Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican known to be an ally of Donald Trump, has nevertheless announced he won’t support the president’s pick to lead the Labor Department.
The senator told Fox News Radio correspondent Ryan Schmelz and NBC News senior political reporter Sahil Kapur that he would vote “no” on Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s confirmation, citing her “very pro-labor” views as the key factor behind his decision.
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“I think she’ll lose 15 Republicans and she’ll get 25 Democrats,” he told Schmelz. “I mean, she’s very pro-labor. She might get all the Democrats. Who knows.”
Trump nominated Chavez-DeRemer as his Secretary of Labor in November, specifically highlighting her commitment to supporting American workers.
“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,” he said at the time. “Making America Richer, Wealthier, Stronger and more Prosperous than ever before!”
Pro-business and anti-union groups swiftly voiced concerns over the nomination, including the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, which stated it was “alarmed” by President Trump’s decision.
The Wall Street Journal criticized Trump, accusing him of prioritizing “unions over workers,” while Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich called on Senate Republicans to “vote this nomination down.” She said: “A co-sponsor of the Pro-Act as Labor Secretary? Absolutely not.”
Democrats and the Teamster’s union welcomed the choice of Chavez-Deremer, however.
“Lori Chavez-DeRemer has been a champion for the American worker and will be the same as Labor Secretary,” said the Teamsters in a statement. “During her time in Congress, Chavez-DeRemer defended UPS workers’ right to strike and fought to protect the right to organize, raise working standards, and keep jobs from being shipped overseas.”
That said, Sean O’Brien, who is president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, spoke at the Republican National Convention and drew no shortage of applause lines during his speech, in which he referred to Trump as “one tough son of a b**ch” after he survived the first assassination attempt against him in July.
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In September, the union — which has long backed Democratic presidential candidates — refused to throw its support behind then-Vice President Kamala Harris. After nearly two-thirds of its members voted to support Trump, the organization instead chose not to support either one. The last time that happened was in 1996, The Hill reported.
“The Teamsters thank all candidates for meeting with members face-to-face during our unprecedented roundtables,” O’Brien said in a statement.
He added: “Unfortunately, neither major candidate was able to make serious commitments to our union to ensure the interests of working people are always put before Big Business. We sought commitments from both Trump and Harris not to interfere in critical union campaigns or core Teamsters industries — and to honor our members’ right to strike — but were unable to secure those pledges.”
In January 2024, the union’s political action committee made a $45,000 donation to the Republican National Committee’s convention fund, just days before Trump appeared at the union’s headquarters.
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Trump had previously met earlier that month O’Brien, the union posted on X.
The labor organization supported Joe Biden in the 2020 election and has not provided much funding to the Republican Party since it made a $15,000 donation to the RNC in 2004.
The Washington Post, which first reported the donation, added:
The gift to the RNC, which is facing fundraising woes, magnifies tensions for unions that have benefited from Biden policies making it easier for workers to unionize and subsidizing projects to create union jobs, even as Trump remains popular among a lot of rank-and-file union members, especially in battleground states such as Michigan and Pennsylvania.
The United Auto Workers union officially backed Biden last year, though its president, Shawn Fain, all but admitted that “a great majority” of UAW members would be voting for Trump on Election Day.
