On Their Way Out the Door, Senate Confirms Keith Sonderling As Secretary of Labor

The U.S. Senate has officially recessed until after the November midterm elections. The body's last gasp act was the confirmation vote for Acting Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling to take on the mantle as Secretary of Labor. 

The Senate Republican majority pulled through. On a party-line vote, Sonderling was confirmed, 47-41. 

U.S. Senate CONFIRMS Keith Sonderling to be Secretary of Labor, 47-41. pic.twitter.com/KiqK3mKSQQ

— CSPAN (@cspan) October 1, 2026

As RedState reported, Sonderling has been a strong advocate since the president's first term, and has worked tirelessly to implement the Trump administration's labor agenda. What has distinguished Sonderling from his predecessor and past secretaries of labor in both Democrat and Republican administrations is his pro-business and pro-independent professional initiatives. Sonderling birthed many of these ideas and was instrumental in seeing them come to full implementation, first as Deputy Secretary of Labor, then as Acting Secretary of Labor, and now as the Secretary of Labor.

Sonderling served in President Trump’s first term as Deputy Administrator of the Wage and Hour Labor Division. In that role, Sonderling was instrumental in the formation and language incorporated in the 2020 Trump Independent Contractor rule, which protected the role of independent contractors, allowing them to maintain their status, freedom, and flexibility. In 2021, the Biden administration rescinded this rule and instituted its own. After Trump won the election in 2024, Sonderling worked to cease enforcement of the 2024 Biden independent contractor rule, and helped to craft the 2026 Trump Independent Contractor rule which follows the framework of Trump's 2021 rule, but incorporates modifications to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA).

As Acting Secretary, Sonderling has strongly advocated for Trump's pro-business and pro-worker agenda, touting the manufacturing jobs that have been returned to the U.S., and has worked tirelessly to beef up and expand apprenticeships through the U.S. Department of Labor for small businesses and private-sector concerns. Under Biden's DOL, apprenticeships were issued through the major labor unions like the AFL-CIO and SEIU, effectively cutting out any private sector opportunities. Sonderling has also long been a champion for defined benefit pension plan sponsors to be able to use group annuities to protect pension benefits through pension risk transfers, and to allow employers to incorporate retirement plan options like cryptocurrency assets and private credit funds.

While the party-line confirmation came as no surprise, it is interesting the senators who chose to not vote at all. Of those 12, six were Republicans and included five who are on their way out the door anyway, and one who is campaigning for governor. This "standing down" is an indicator that while they did not want to stand against the nomination clearing the floor, they also did not want to appear as though they were aligned with Trump's choice.  

Save for Blackburn, the others' failure to vote invites this inference.

• Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
• Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
• John Cornyn (R-TX)
• Dick Durbin (D-IL)
• Joni Ernst (R-IA)
• Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
• Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
• Jerry Moran (R-KS)
• Tina Smith (D-MN)
• Thom Tillis (R-NC)
• Mark Warner (D-VA)
• Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)

Sonderling's road from appointment to confirmation went quickly. In April, Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned just before an OIG investigation into allegations of travel fraud, having an inappropriate relationship with a staffer, and drinking on the job was officially published and ended her scandal-plagued tenure. President Trump immediately appointed Sonderling as Acting Secretary of Labor, and at the end of June, submitted an official nomination for Sonderling to assume the role of Secretary of Labor. 

I am honored to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the 31st Secretary of Labor.@POTUS is the greatest President for the American Worker, and I’m grateful for his trust and confidence in me to lead @USDOL.

America’s workers and job creators are the greatest in the world. I will… https://t.co/XUcD5GWb6a

— Secretary Keith Sonderling (@Sonderling47) October 1, 2026

I am honored to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the 31st Secretary of Labor.

@POTUS is the greatest President for the American Worker, and I’m grateful for his trust and confidence in me to lead @USDOL.

America’s workers and job creators are the greatest in the world. I will work every day to ensure they have a Department of Labor that is accountable, effective, and responsive to their needs.

Compared to the last Acting Secretary, Julie Su, whom President Joe Biden nominated to take on the role of Labor Secretary, Sonderling sailed through with flying colors. Su's nomination was vociferously opposed by Republican lawmakers in both houses of Congress and by small businesses, business leaders and advocacy groups, and independent professionals. After 281 days of Democrats failing to drum up the necessary votes for Su's confirmation, it was sent back to Biden's desk. Biden doubled down and submitted Su for a second time, but Su's nomination was essentially a dead letter. Thankfully, it remained that way until the Biden regime came to an end when Trump was inaugurated on January 20, 2025.

Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.

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