Trump’s pick to lead DOL testifies before Congress

Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling sat before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee for a job interview (of sorts) to scratch the “acting” off his title and lead the nation’s labor agency responsible for overseeing work and the people who make work happen.

President Trump last month nominated Sonderling to replace ousted Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer after a spat of controversies dogged her tenure at the Francis Perkins Building.

Sonderling testified before the committee Thursday and in remarks praised the president for his economic priorities and achievements, touting job growth and new tax policies on overtime and tips. He also pointed to his own prior experience in and around the agency to bolster his case that he should lead the department.

“Few people have had the opportunity to experience the department from so many different perspectives, from the outside in private practice, as a policy advisor, as an agency head, as an adjunct professor, as deputy secretary, as acting secretary, and now as the nominee for labor secretary,” Sonderling told the committee in his opening remarks. Later, he added, “You have my commitment that I will continue working every day to faithfully carry out the mission that has guided my service at the department since my first day nearly a decade ago.”

Sonderling faced questions about apprenticeship priorities under President Trump, investigating unemployment insurance fraud and immigrant labor, and AI readiness.

“My responsibility is to ensure the American workforce has the skills to seize the opportunities while protecting their safety, while protecting their wages, and while protecting their retirement benefits,” he said. “We are restoring compliance assistance, pursuing rulemaking that replaces uncertainty with clarity, expanding retirement investment opportunities, promoting competition in prescription drug pricing, and helping more Americans start families.”

Sonderling’s long history in the agency’s orbit and operational leadership as its deputy secretary and current acting secretary offer a pretty clear picture of what to expect from a Labor Department under his leadership. His record, good or bad, was unquestioned. DOL priorities during Sonderling’s tenure under Trump’s leadership have focused largely on loosening stricter Biden-era rules that favored employees over employers, like those on overtime and independent contractors, and creating further guidance that reduces burdens on employers.

“I fear any vote to confirm you is for more of the same: to strip overtime protections for our workers, to undercut our unions, and to let giant corporations get away with robbery,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) told Sonderling during the hearing. “America does need a labor secretary who understands our workers…should not be denied overtime pay, or who will prosecute wage theft and child labor violations, who believes we should increase the minimum wage, who understands America is way overdue for a national paid leave program, and who will stand up every minute for every worker’s right to form a union.”