Why this Trump nominee is 'a pleasant surprise' for Dems

15 January

Democrats, unsurprisingly, are not the biggest fans of the Donald Trump nominees awaiting confirmation as he prepares to take the White House next week, but there's one name who came "as a pleasant surprise" to Democratic party leaders, according to The Atlantic's Russell Berman.

The MAGA labor secretary nominee, former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR), Berman notes, is "one of just three House Republicans to co-sponsor the labor movement’s top legislative priority: a bill known as the PRO Act, which would make unionizing easier and expand labor protections for union members."

United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten told The Atlantic, "It’s a positive move for those of us who represent workers and who want workers to have a better life."

The Democratic ally emphasized that Chavez-DeRemer "bucked her party not only by supporting the PRO Act but also by voting against private-school vouchers and cuts to public-education funding."

Berman notes, "Yet until his selection of Chavez-DeRemer, Trump’s support for unions had stopped at rhetoric. He’s surrounded himself with conservative billionaires and generally sided with business interests by opposing minimum-wage increases, enhanced overtime pay, and other policies backed by organized labor."

Still, the Atlantic staff writer adds that Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said, "If Chavez-DeRemer commits as labor secretary to strengthen labor unions and promote worker power, she’s a strong candidate for the job."

Weingarten noted, "'This is where the rubber hits the road about whether the parties stay in their own preexisting camps' with regard to labor,'" Berman writes, "She said she would lobby Democratic senators to support Chavez-DeRemer if the nominee sticks by her pro-union positions. But if she renounces them, Weingarten said, 'then all bets are off.'"

Furthermore, Berman adds, "Chavez-DeRemer might be the best nominee Democrats can get under Trump, but labor leaders like Weingarten 'will be watching closely to see how she squares her recent support for union-friendly legislation with an administration that is, in other key positions, empowering business leaders and billionaires.'"

Berman's full report is available at this link (subscription required).

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