Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling appears at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Capitol Hill on July 16, 2026 in Washington, DC Sonderling has served as acting Secretary of Labor since April 20, 2026, following the resignation of Lori Chavez-DeRemer. (Photo by Eric Lee/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Labor Department on Thursday defended the agency’s vital role in a broader administration push to dismantle the Education Department.
Criticized by Senate Democrats, Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling threw his support behind the numerous interagency agreements (IAAs) Education has signed with Labor so far, comparing his agency’s functions in the transfer to a “firm that only advises and helps move the funds of these programs, not the actual programs themselves.”
The agreements — including with the departments of Health and Human Services, State, Treasury, Interior and Justice — are a key part of the Trump administration’s plan to eliminate the 46-year-old Education Department.
Sonderling appeared before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions in his bid to be the next Secretary of Labor, where he highlighted his extensive DOL experience.
“Few people have had the opportunity to see the department from so many different perspectives, from the outside in private practice, as a policy advisor, as an agency director, as an associate professor, as an assistant secretary, as an acting secretary and now as a candidate for labor secretary,” he said. “These experiences have prepared me to lead this department with a deep understanding of its mission, its people and, most importantly, the Americans we serve.”
The Floridian then took over the role of acting secretary in April Lori Chavez DeRemer resigned amid allegations of misconduct.
Sonderling was also appointed acting director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics by the president in June and confirmed by the Senate as assistant secretary of labor in March 2025.
The committee will vote July 23 on whether to advance Sonderling’s nomination to the full Senate.
“It makes no sense”
At the hearing, a handful of Democrats addressed the Trump administration’s ongoing dismantling of the Education Department and Labor’s role in several education programs.
“Right now you’re working with (Education) Secretary (Linda) McMahon to take over the Department of Education’s programs to help Trump abolish that department,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who noted that Sonderling has built his “own anti-worker record at DOL.”
Murray pointed out that “it makes absolutely no sense that DOL, an agency whose expertise lies in assisting wage earners and job seekers, would now be tasked with taking over complex educational programs from the Department of Education to serve kindergarten and elementary school students.”
Through several IAAs, the Department of Labor assumes expanded roles in managing educational programs related to primary and secondary education; post-secondary education; and vocational, technical and adult education.
The Ministry of Education has emphasized in fact sheets that it will maintain its statutory responsibilities and program oversight in relation to the IAAs.
In the lower chamber a packet of 10 bills This permanently transfers several education functions to other departments and largely mirrors many of the previous IAAs passed by the House Education and Workforce Committee on Wednesday.
Programs are still run by “career experts.”
Sonderling stood behind the administration’s efforts, saying “it makes a lot of sense” for DOL to take on more grant responsibilities and work with education.
The candidate also emphasized that the interagency agreements are “not about politics,” but rather about providing “a service” to the Department of Education.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat from Wisconsin, said the Trump administration’s dispersal of education programs across the federal government, including the DOL, creates a system that is “much more complicated and much less efficient, particularly for states and public school districts.”
However, Sonderling argued that these programs “still all” remain with the Department of Education and are “led by career experts” within the Department of Education.
He added, “For efficiency reasons, we moved some groups of employees to the Frances Perkins Building (DOL headquarters), where they all have their own offices, their own computers and parking, and work out of that building.”
Baldwin urged that the candidate provide evidence that “transferring these programs to the Department of Labor has made everything better for students, teachers and parents,” and expressed to Sonderling that he was committed to providing that data to the senator.
“There’s a right way to do reform – come to the committee and say, ‘Hey, look, this is in the law, but there’s a better way to do it, so let’s work on a better way to do it,'” said Sen. Tim Kaine.
“The wrong approach is to treat the (Department of Education) like a furniture store, giving a discount on sales and arbitrarily handing over the parts to agencies that don’t have the expertise to handle them,” the Virginia Democrat said.
“That’s my concern about what’s happening right now.”
