Keith Sonderling moved one step closer on Thursday to becoming the next U.S. secretary of labor after the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted 12 to 11 along party lines to advance his nomination to the full Senate.
Sonderling, who has served as acting labor secretary since April, now awaits a final confirmation vote.
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In a July 16 hearing before the committee, Republican lawmakers praised Sonderling’s experience at the Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Democratic senators sharply criticized his support for President Donald Trump’s labor agenda.
During the hearing, Sonderling outlined an agenda centered on workforce development, expanding retirement investment opportunities, modernizing labor regulations and preparing workers for the growing impact of artificial intelligence. He told senators the department is collaborating with federal agencies to develop AI workforce training initiatives; creating an AI Action Work Hub; and directing the Bureau of Labor Statistics to gather new data on AI’s effects across the labor market.
The acting secretary also pledged to finalize long-awaited guidance on missing retirement plan participants; improve access to portable workplace benefits for independent workers; and continue efforts to expand retirement investment options for defined contribution plans.
The retirement industry awaits a final version of the proposed DOL rule for prudence when selecting designated investment alternatives for a defined contribution plan menu. The public comment period for the rule ended on June 1.
Democrats questioned Sonderling about ethics, worker protections, independent contractor policies and the Department of Labor’s expanding responsibilities following the transfer of several workforce development functions to the DOL from the Department of Education. Republicans, meanwhile, emphasized his experience and pressed him on AI, retirement security and fraud prevention.
If confirmed by the full Senate, Sonderling would become the head of the Department of Labor, having served in multiple senior roles at the agency since 2017, including deputy secretary and acting secretary.
Sonderling replaced former Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who resigned in April amid allegations of misconduct.
The party-line vote from the Senate HELP Committee, and the previous Senate 53-to-46 Senate vote in March 2025, with one senator abstaining, that confirmed Sonderling as deputy secretary of labor indicate that the full Senate will likely confirm his nomination in a party-line vote.
