Whatever happened to President Donald Trump’s “pro-union” agenda? Before returning to office last year, Trump presented himself as one of the most union-friendly Republican candidates in modern history, poised to win support not only from members—which he did—but also from union leaders. Trump skipped a presidential primary debate in 2023 to address striking auto workers, and invited Teamsters president Sean O’Brien to speak at the Republican National Convention the following year.
It wasn’t only about winning elections. When the International Longshoremen’s Association threatened a strike in January 2025 that would have halted shipping along the entire East Coast, Trump backed the union, even though he no longer needed its megaphone and votes. American Compass, a conservative think tank formed in 2020, advocates for pro-worker policies and maintains ties in Congress and the White House.
Yet nearly halfway through Trump’s term, the pro-labor policy agenda has all but vanished. And the woman who Trump tapped to lead it is now sitting on the sidelines.
