Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a Republican former congresswoman whose past support for organized labor earned her skepticism and support across party lines, was confirmed by the Senate on Monday to lead the Labor Department for the Trump administration.
The 67-to-32 vote puts Ms. Chavez-DeRemer in charge of enforcing federal labor laws, including workplace safety and pay regulations, and overseeing the collection and publication of labor market data.
She secured votes from prominent Democrats, including Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, while several Republicans — including Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell, both of Kentucky — voted against her, a reflection of Ms. Chavez-DeRemer’s history of support for labor unions and collective bargaining.
Ms. Chavez-DeRemer advanced to the full vote after a Senate subcommittee last month voted 14 to 9 — with some crossing of party lines — to approve her nomination. The vote from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee followed a hearing at which she faced sharp questions about her support for unions.
While in Congress, Ms. Chavez-DeRemer was a co-sponsor of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, known as the PRO Act, a sweeping labor bill that sought to strengthen collective bargaining rights. The bill, a Democratic priority, has yet to win passage, and she was among the few Republicans to support it.
Ms. Chavez-DeRemer lost her re-election bid in Oregon in November. She was tapped for the Cabinet role by President Trump after some urging from the Teamsters president, Sean O’Brien.
At her Senate hearing last month, she sought to distance herself from the PRO bill and also pledged support for Mr. Trump’s agenda.
Mr. Paul voted against her on the Senate subcommittee, and did so again on Monday — along with Mr. McConnell, the former majority leader, who has voted against several of Mr. Trump’s nominees, including Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health and human services secretary.
