In the negotiations to form a "Grand Coalition" of the Christian Democrats (CDU together with the Bavarian CSU) and the Social Democrats (SPD) following the 2013 federal elections, Lehrieder was part of the CDU/CSU delegation in the working group on labor policy, led by Ursula von der Leyen and Andrea Nahles. In similar negotiations following the 2017 federal elections, he was part of the working group on families, women, seniors and youth, led by Annette Widmann-Mauz, Angelika Niebler and Katarina Barley.