Conservatives tout victory after stopping last-minute Schumer push to confirm key agency head: 'Outstanding'

Republicans and conservatives on social media are taking a victory lap after Senate Democrats failed in a last-minute attempt to keep control of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Wednesday after narrowly losing a vote to end debate on re-appointing the board's chair, Lauren McFerran.

Outgoing Democrat Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had hoped to confirm McFerran, a President Biden pick, to a new five-year term that would have given Democrats control of the influential agency until at least 2026, but the vote failed, 50-49, with independent Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona voting against it. 

The vote, which conservatives had railed against for days by arguing that President-elect Trump should decide the pick after his November election victory, was celebrated by conservatives.

"Working Americans just delivered a massive victory for President Trump and his pro-worker polices, so why on earth would we let Biden choose more NLRB nominees?" Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital in a statement. "I’m glad we didn’t, and I look forward to working with President Trump to support policies and nominees that are good for working families and all Americans."

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"Lauren McFerran’s abysmal record running the Biden-Harris NLRB includes undermining freelancers, crushing businesses of all sizes, and greenlighting vulgar union harassment of American workers," Tom Hebert, director of competition and regulatory policy for Americans for Tax Reform, told Fox News Digital in a statement.

"Chuck Schumer tried to put the Trump-Vance NLRB under Democrat control by sneaking McFerran's renomination through the Senate, anticipating Republican absences. Fortunately for American workers and businesses, Republicans showed up and blocked Schumer’s scheme, ensuring the Trump-Vance NLRB is controlled by pro-worker Republicans instead of anti-worker Democrats."

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"I am glad the Senate rejected Democrats’ partisan attempt to deny President Trump the opportunity to choose his own NLRB nominees and enact a pro-America, pro-worker agenda with the mandate he has from the American people," Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., posted on X.

"Outstanding work @SenateGOP and free thinkers @SenatorSinema and @Sen_JoeManchin!" Independent Women's Voice senior policy analyst Carrie Sheffield posted on X. "Another antagonist of @elonmusk and free speech collapses. Paving the way for @realDonaldTrump to fix harmful policies. Great work."

A point of frustration for Republicans was the fact that Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chair Bernie Sanders denied a request from Cassidy to hold a public hearing on McFerran before advancing her. McFerran's nomination has been waiting for consideration since August.

In 2021, McFerran's NLRB ordered Tesla to direct Musk to delete a tweet they said was damaging to a unionization effort at Tesla in a move that was eventually overturned by the U.S. Appeals Court. 

"The current administration is doing everything possible to prevent government efficiency, but @DOGE is inevitable," Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk posted on X before the vote in response to a post lamenting the Democrat push to advance McFerran. 

Unlike most similar agencies, members of the NLRB cannot be removed by the president at will simply based on policy goals or changing administrations. 

"Any member of the Board may be removed by the President, upon notice and hearing, for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, but for no other cause," the NLRB website states.

In response to the McFerran vote, Democrats pulled the cloture vote for Republican NLRB nominee Joshua Ditelberg, giving Trump the opportunity to fill two seats if nothing changes before inauguration day. 

Schumer filed cloture on McFerran's nomination on Monday, setting up a vote on Wednesday. In floor remarks, the New York Democrat did not acknowledge the lame-duck nature of the vote, telling his colleagues, "If you truly care about working families, if you care about fixing income inequality in America, then you should be in favor of advancing today’s NLRB nominees. You can’t say you are for working families, then go and vote ‘no’ today, because the NLRB protects workers from mistreatment on the job and from overreaching employers."

In a statement after the vote, Schumer said, "It is deeply disappointing, a direct attack on working people, and incredibly troubling that this highly qualified nominee – with a proven track record of protecting worker rights – did not have the votes."

Fox News Digital's Julia Johnson contributed to this report.