On March 10, 2025, in a 67-32 vote, the Senate confirmed the appointment of one-term Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer as the 30th Secretary of Labor and former EEOC Commissioner Keith Sonderling as Deputy Secretary.
Formally nominated by President Trump on January 20, 2025, Chavez-DeRemer (R) represented Oregon’s Fifth Congressional District from 2022-2024, sitting on House Committees for Agriculture, Education and the Workforce, and Transportation and Infrastructure. Prior to her brief Congressional career, Chavez-DeRemer had limited political experience, losing two Oregon state house races, but with a stint as mayor of a small Portland suburb.
Unusual for a Republican candidate for office, Chavez-DeRemer co-sponsored the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act) and courted labor union support in her reelection campaign, noting that she was the daughter of a Teamster. She ultimately lost to Democratic challenger Janelle Bynum.
For the past few years, the PRO Act has essentially sat on organized labor’s wish list. The proposed legislation would weaken right-to-work laws by allowing unions to collect dues from all employees, empower the National Labor Relations Board to fine employers for legal violations, and significantly modify the National Labor Relations Act to prohibit employers from permanently replacing strikers or locking out employees. Chavez-DeRemer disavowed support for the bill during her confirmation hearings.
Chavez-DeRemer also voted for reauthorization of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which coordinates efforts by state and federal governments to provide access to career and training services, as well as other employment programs. Chavez-DeRemer has voiced support for training and apprenticeship programs, as well as manufacturing jobs.
On account of her pro-labor record, President Trump’s selection of Chavez-DeRemer surprised many, and three Republicans voted against her confirmation, including former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Rand Paul. Meanwhile, for the same reasons, 17 Democratic Senators and several labor unions supported her confirmation, including the Teamsters, the North America Building Trades Union, the Carpenters, and the International Association of Fire Fighters.
Chavez-DeRemer will begin her term as Secretary of Labor in significant turmoil, as the Trump Administration takes aim at eliminating DEI programs and minimizing government employment rolls. Indeed, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which already terminated the employment of thousands of federal employees and contractors, recently set its sights on the Department of Labor. Chavez-DeRemer promised that she would take a “deeper look” into DOGE’s efforts.
Meanwhile, Deputy Secretary Sonderling previously served as Acting and Deputy Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor, and as Commissioner of the EEOC. An experienced civil servant, Sonderling will oversee the Department of Labor’s operations and nearly 17,000 employees. An alumnus of Nova Southeastern University Law School, Sonderling practiced labor and employment law as a partner at Gunster, a Florida-based law firm, before entering government service. Based on Sonderling’s prior record, it is expected he will prioritize compliance issues through opinion letters. As Deputy Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division, one of Sonderling’s most notable opinion letters was FLSA2019-6, which was the first federal analysis of the employment status of gig workers. Ultimately, Sonderling determined that gig workers are contractors. The Department of Labor administers federal laws related to workplace safety (OSHA), wage and hour standards (Wage and Hour Division), federal contractors (Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs), and civil and criminal investigations into labor and employment law violations through the Office of the Inspector General.