Democrats joined Republicans Monday in voting to confirm former GOP Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer as labor secretary, one of the final members of President Trump's Cabinet to win the upper chamber's approval.

The Senate on Monday confirmed Lori Chavez-DeRemer as secretary of the Department of Labor as President Trump works to round out his Cabinet.

Ms. Chavez-DeRemer, who enjoyed support from both labor unions and business leaders, breezed across the finish line on a 67-32 vote.

The Senate on Monday confirmed former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.) to lead the Department of Labor, cementing another of President Trump’s nominees in bipartisan fashion. 

Senators voted 67 to 32, with 17 Democrats voted with most Republicans present. Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Ted Budd (R-N.C.) voted against her confirmation. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) did not vote.

 Former GOP Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, President Trump's nominee to run the Labor Department, appeared before a Senate committee for her confirmation hearing on Wednesday, where she has faced questions about her support for a pro-union bill when she was in Congress and other labor issues.

Inflation perked up more than anticipated in January, providing further incentive for the Federal Reserve to hold the line on interest rates.

The consumer price index, a broad measure of costs in goods and services across the U.S. economy, accelerated a seasonally adjusted 0.5% for the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 3%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. They were higher than the respective Dow Jones estimates for 0.3% and 2.9%. The annual rate was 0.1 percentage point higher than December.

Inflation ticked higher in January as stubbornly high prices continued to strain Americans' household finances as the Federal Reserve weighs a continued pause to its interest rate cut plans.

The Labor Department on Wednesday said that the consumer price index — a broad measure of how much everyday goods like gasoline, groceries and rent cost — increased 0.5% in January while it rose 3% on an annual basis. The annual figure is the highest since June 2024.

Many commonly purchased goods and services got more expensive in January, driving inflation in the wrong direction and to its highest rate since June of last year.

Consumer prices rose 0.5% from December — the fastest pace since August 2023 — resulting in an annual inflation rate of 3% for the 12 months that ended in January, according to the latest Consumer Price Index data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A jump in energy and food prices hit the US last month, as progress stabilising prices remained elusive.

On average, prices in December were up 2.9% compared with a year earlier, up from 2.7% in November, the Labor Department said.

Energy prices accounted for more than 40% of the rise in inflation last month, according to the monthly report. It also showed egg prices shot up more than 36% compared with 2023, as a bout of bird flu hit supply and led to shortages.

Job growth in the U.S. slowed much more than expected during July and the unemployment rate ticked higher, fueling fears of a broader economic slowdown, the Labor Department reported Friday.

Nonfarm payrolls grew by just 114,000 for the month, down from the downwardly revised 179,000 in June and below the Dow Jones estimate for 185,000. The unemployment rate edged higher to 4.3%, its highest since October 2021.

U.S. job growth cooled sharply in July while the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to the highest level in nearly three years.

The Labor Department reported Friday that employers added 114,000 jobs in July, missing the 175,000 gain forecast by LSEG economists. The unemployment rate also unexpectedly inched higher to 4.3% against expectations that it would hold steady at 4.1%. 

It marked the highest level for the jobless rate since October 2021.