WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said Monday he will nominate Keith Sonderling to be the secretary of labor, elevating him from the agency's acting director two months after Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned amid abuse-of-power allegations.
Sonderling, a lawyer who has held a variety of acting positions and leadership roles across Trump's government, was previously the deputy labor secretary and a Republican member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
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“Throughout his career, Keith has proven his dedication to delivering strong results for the Hardworking People of our Country, and I know he will do an incredible job in his new role,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post announcing Sonderling's nomination.
Sonderling's nomination is subject to Senate confirmation.
During Trump's second term, in addition to his Labor Department post, Sonderling has been the acting director of U.S. Office of Government Ethics and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, one of several agencies Trump targeted for closure in an executive order last year.
At the library agency, Sonderling placed many agency staff members on administrative leave, sent termination notices to most of them, began canceling grants and contracts and fired all members of the National Museum and Library Services Board. Those actions were later blocked by a judge, and the case remains on appeal.
Chavez-DeRemer resigned in April following reports that she was under a series of investigations.
A New York Times report revealed that the Labor Department’s inspector general was reviewing material showing Chavez-DeRemer and her top aides and family members routinely sent personal messages and requests to young staff members.
She also faced allegations that she drank alcohol on the job and that she tasked aides to plan official trips for primarily personal reasons.
Chavez De-Remer has denied wrongdoing.