WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s nominee to run the Department of Labor emphasized a steady grounding in labor law built on years of experience in private practice, academia and the federal government as he looked to win over senators in a confirmation hearing Thursday.
Keith Sonderling has already been on the job as acting secretary since April, when the White House announced that Lori Chavez-DeRemer would be leaving her post to take a job in the private sector. Her exit followed multiple allegations that she had abused her position’s power.
The hearing Thursday lacked much of the vitriol and drama that has been part of some confirmation hearings during Trump’s second term. Still, there were considerable policy disputes, including on the administration’s efforts to administer various Department of Education grant programs within the Department of Labor.
Sonderling was a senior advisor at the department during Trump’s first term and went on to serve as a Republican member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He also taught about the laws the department enforces as an adjunct professor at George Washington University. He returned to the department in Trump’s second term and was confirmed as deputy secretary in March of last year.
“Few people have had the opportunity to experience the department from so many perspectives,” Sonderling told lawmakers.
Sonderling faced Democratic criticism
Sonderling is expected to be confirmed, but Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., made clear she was no fan of his work.
She noted that the department this year rescinded a Biden-era rule that expanded who can get overtime pay, which the department had estimated would provide an additional 4 million lower-paid salary workers with overtime protections. A federal judge had also blocked the rule during the final months of Joe Biden’s presidency.
Murray also noted that the department was pursuing a new rule for determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor, which she said would let corporations classify workers as contractors so they can pay lesser wages — depriving workers of billions of dollars annually. She said the Labor Department also fired the vast majority of employees in the office that works to protect workers from discrimination by federal contractors.
“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, literally,” Murray said.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla, said Sonderling was without a doubt qualified to serve as the next Labor secretary. He also said Sonderling has provided stability and steady leadership at the department since Chavez-DeRemer’s abrupt departure.
“He is committed to making America the best place to get a job,” Scott said.
Lawmakers raised concerns about grants and the use of AI
One issue that came up repeatedly during the confirmation hearing was Democratic lawmakers’ concerns that some Department of Education grant programs are being managed at Labor. That’s been happening as Trump works to fulfill his campaign pledge to close the Department of Education entirely.
Sonderling said Department of Education staff have been detailed to his department and that they’re making policy decisions. He said the Department of Labor is assisting them on the back end in dispersing funding. For example, he said $1.5 billion came to his department at midnight on July 1 and was disbursed within an hour or two.
“And the states love this,” Sonderling said.
Senators also expressed concern about what impact the growing use of artificial intelligence is having on the American worker.
Sonderling said the department is collecting information from companies and unions about AI usage. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will review that data and help the department steer job training money to the states more effectively.
Currently, he said there is a “gloom and doom narrative” about AI’s impact on workers that he said is driven by consultants and the tech industry.
“What we believe we’re going to see is that AI-impacted jobs can potentially make you more productive. It can make your workplaces safer, but we can’t get that information yet,” Sonderling said.
Sonderling also touted his work with Vice President JD Vance as part of a task force focused on preventing fraud. He said he’s telling states to “verify first and pay later” when it comes to unemployment insurance claims. He said the department is working with the state of Alabama on a centralized verification system.
“They have some of the lowest fraud and improper payment rates in the country because they are verifying,” Sonderling said.
