The Senate voted Monday to confirm Lori Chavez-DeRemer as U.S. labor secretary, a Cabinet position that puts her in charge of enforcing federally mandated worker rights and protections at a time when the White House is trying to eliminate thousands of government employees.

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.