Trump appoints dangerous new Secretary of Labor after current secretary resigns

St. Paul, MN – On April 20, the Trump administration’s Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer, resigned from her post. On the same day, Trump appointed Keith Sonderling as Acting Secretary of Labor.

Chavez-DeRemer had served as a congresswoman from Oregon previously, and, while she is a Republican, she was supported in her congressional campaigns by some unions, including the Oregon Fire Fighters Council, Ironworkers Local 29, the United Food and Commercial Workers, and the American Federation of Government Employees. When she was tapped by Trump to take over as labor secretary, the move was lauded by International Brotherhood of Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, who had recently spoken at the Republican National Convention.

The Department of Labor has a budget of roughly $14 billion a year and over 15,000 employees, and enforces and interprets federal laws that oversee more than 165 million workers in the U.S. While Chavez-DeRemer was a Republican, a member of Trump’s administration, and by no means a champion of the working class, her appointment was seen by many across the labor movement as not as bad an appointment as might have been expected.

DeRemer served from March 10, 2025 until her resignation, amid a host of scandals including an alleged inappropriate relationship with an employee, drinking on the job, as well as improper use of taxpayer money. None of these allegations have been proven; however, DeRemer chose to step down from her role, saying that she preferred to spend “more time with family.”

To replace DeRemer Trump announced that he was tapping Keith Sonderling as Acting Secretary of Labor. Sonderling is viewed as a Washington insider with significant connections to big business interests and in Republican circles of influence that include connections to business and politicians in his home state of Florida, where attacks on unions and the working class have been ramping up under Trump.

Many business leaders and right-wingers were surprised when Chavez- DeRemer was appointed in 2025, expecting a more vicious right-wing, pro-business, anti-worker secretary. This led to those business and right-wing leaders lobbying Trump to appoint Sonderling as the number two person in the Department of Labor under DeRemer. Sonderling was believed to have played a significant role in Elon Musk’s DOGE early in Trumps second presidency.

While it is yet to be seen what will come of Sonderling’s appointment, it signals a move towards an even less worker-friendly Department of Labor and a shift further to the right in the secretary’s office.

#Labor #Trump #LoriChavezDeRemer #KeithSonderling #DepartmentofLabor