U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday urged colleagues to reject Lori Chavez-DeRemer, President Donald Trump’s nominee for labor secretary, and hold hearings to examine Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk’s outsized role in the Republican president’s administration.

Chavez-DeRemer, a former GOP U.S. congresswoman from Oregon was
approved by a 14-9 Senate vote by members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee.

“Let us understand that reality and not play along with this charade,”
said Sanders (I-Vt.), the ranking HELP member.

Sanders used the occasion of the panel’s vote, however, to make the broader point about key members of Trump’s cabinet and the absurdity of the amount of power that has been bestowed on Musk.

“Today, we are not voting on who the next secretary of labor is,” Sanders said. “The next secretary of labor, the next secretary of education, the next secretary of housing, the next secretary of the treasury is Elon Musk. Let us understand that reality and not play along with this charade.”

Sanders continued:

We have a situation where people all over this country understand that joining a trade union is a way to get better wages and working conditions. Millions of workers all over this country say, “I want to join a union.” And yet we have large corporations acting illegally to deny workers the right to join unions, which is why one of my major priorities and the priority of many members on this side of the aisle is to pass the :[Richard L. Trumka] Protecting the Right to Organize PRO Act.

Last year, Sanders led the reintroduction of the PRO Act, legislation which would give unionswhich would, give unions and employers the ability to override state-level so-called “right to work” laws, enhance strike protections, ban anti-union “captive audience” meetings, and empower the National Labor Relations Board to
impose monetary penalties on companies that violate workers’ rights.

“Today, tens of millions of American workers are earning starvation wages, $12, $13 an hour,” Sanders noted. “Nobody in any part of this country can survive on $12, $13 dollars an hour. And yet the minimum wage—the federal minimum wage of $7.25—has not been raised in a very, very long time.”

“So what we need is a secretary of labor who is going to stand up and say we are going to take on powerful special interests,” the senator continued. “We are going to stand with the working class of this country. Unfortunately… Chavez-DeRemer is not that person.”

“Just yesterday, the president held a meeting with his cabinet,” Sanders noted. “And who was the star of the meeting? Was it the secretary of the defense? Was it secretary of state? No, it was an unelected official who happens to be the wealthiest person on Earth. It was Elon Musk.”

“If any cabinet official has courage to stand up to Mr. Musk and disobey his edicts, they are gone,” the senator added. “So… my request to you is a simple one. Let’s be honest. The American people understand it, and it’s time that we understood it as well.”

“If you want to discuss policies in the Department of Labor,” Sanders said, “let’s bring in the real secretary. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully request that this committee bring Elon Musk before this committee so that we can really hear what’s going on with the government.”