Acting United States Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling in NH

Acting United States Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling was in New Hampshire this week. 

For background, Keith Sonderling was named by President Donald Trump to be Deputy Secretary of Labor shortly after Trump's re-election in November 2024, and ultimately confirmed by the US Senate in March 2025.

When a scandal-plagued Lori Chavez-DeRemer announced her resignation as Secretary of Labor on April 20, 2026, Sonderling immediately stepped up into the role of Acting Secretary. Reportedly, Sonderling had been functionally running the Department’s day-to-day operations for some time prior to the official hand-over.

More recently, President Trump has announced that he is nominating Sonderling to the full Secretary post, noting that "Throughout his career, Keith has proven his dedication to delivering strong results for the Hardworking People of our Country".

Removing the "Acting" from his job title would require yet another Senate confirmation. However, that is seemingly unnecessary in light of a legal interpretation used by former President Joe Biden to keep Julie Su as Acting Secretary of Labor from 2023 (when her chances at a Senate confirmation stalled) to 2025 (when Biden’s term ended).

Big Labor made a push in DC to shove Sonderling aside and instead nominate Congressman Riley Moore, Republican from West Virginia. Politico describes Moore as “one of a handful of elected Republicans with close ties to organized labor”. 

For example, Moore was part of a small group of Republicans who joined every House Democrat in voting for the “Faster Labor Contracts Act” — which was championed by Sean M. O’Brien, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union. The “Faster Labor Contracts Act”, which started as a section of the radically-anti-worker PRO Act, would have let government-selected bureaucrats impose forced-dues union contracts over the objections of both employers and employees.

Suffice it to say, Sonderling’s record on worker freedom is far more promising than that of Riley Moore, or that of former Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer.

Perhaps economist Stephen Moore (no relation to Riley Moore that the author is aware of) put it best, advocating for Sonderling prior to Trump's announcement: "Trump needs a pro-worker head of Labor Department — not a union lapdog".

Sonderling’s nomination is a victory for workers, who should expect him to lead the federal Department of Labor in rolling back some of the Biden-era damage to our nation's body of labor law. 

Hopefully state employees -- and Granite State politicians -- took some notes from Sonderling while he was here.

Read more about Sonderling's visit at WMUR:
Acting labor secretary visits NH; highlights trade careers