McConnell criticizes and votes no on Trump Labor pick

Former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) was one of three Senate Republicans to vote Monday against former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.), President Trump’s nominee to head the Labor Department, criticizing her for supporting policies “that force hardworking Americans into union membership.”

Chavez-DeRemer, a former House GOP lawmaker from Washington state, is the fourth high-profile Trump nominee McConnell has voted against. He previously voted against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“The American people demand and deserve change after four years of economic heartache under the ‘most pro-union administration in American history.’ Unfortunately, Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s record pushing policies that force hardworking Americans into union membership suggests more of the same,” McConnell said in a statement.

He argued that most Americans believe that joining a union should be a personal choice, not a mandate, and he noted that Kentucky has adopted a “right-to-work” law.

“Secretary Chavez-DeRemer will have a critical opportunity to put the interests of working families ahead of Big Labor bosses by empowering every American worker to join a union on their terms. I hope she takes it,” he said.

Republican Sens. Ted Budd (N.C.) and Rand Paul (Ky.) also voted against the nominee.

The Senate confirmed Chavez-DeRemer on Monday by a vote of 67 to 32 after a large number of Democrats voted for her.

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