President Trump on Monday moved to make acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling the permanent head of the Department of Labor, elevating a longtime administration insider who has served in the role since April.
“It is my Great Honor to announce that I am nominating Keith E. Sonderling, the outstanding Acting United States Secretary of Labor, to be permanent,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Throughout his career, Keith has proven his dedication to delivering strong results for the Hardworking People of our Country, and I know he will do an incredible job in his new role.”
Sonderling took over as acting Labor secretary on April 20 after Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned amid investigations into alleged misconduct involving both her and her husband. Prior to that, he served as Chavez-DeRemer’s deputy for more than a year. The Hill has reached out to the Labor Department for comment.
The nominee’s government career spans multiple administrations. During Trump’s first term, he rose to acting administrator of the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division. A lawyer by training, Sonderling also served as a member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under both Trump and Biden. Just last week, he added another role: acting director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, the independent agency tasked with policing conflicts of interest among executive branch officials.
The nomination comes as Trump continues to reshape the federal workforce, with the Supreme Court recently handing him a major win on presidential firing power. In a related case, the court also temporarily blocked Trump’s firing of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, setting up a procedural hurdle. The administration has aggressively pushed its agenda on labor and ethics oversight, with Sonderling now positioned to lead both the Labor Department and the ethics office on an acting basis.
Trump’s move to make Sonderling permanent could signal a shift toward more assertive enforcement of workplace rules, though the nominee’s record suggests continuity with the administration’s deregulatory bent. Critics have questioned whether one person can effectively run two major agencies simultaneously, but White House officials have brushed aside concerns, citing Sonderling’s experience.
The Senate will need to confirm Sonderling for the permanent Labor secretary post. Given Republican control of the chamber, his path appears smooth, though some Democrats may press him on his tenure at the EEOC and his handling of wage-and-hour disputes.
This is a developing story.
