A week after the resignation of embattled Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, there are strong signs that President Donald Trump will send Deputy Secretary Keith Sonderling — now serving as acting secretary — to the Senate for confirmation as a permanent Cabinet member.
Sonderling, 43, is a veteran of Trump's first administration, in which he served as acting administrator of the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division and later as a member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The West Palm Beach attorney and grandchild of Holocaust survivors has been widely considered a voice for conservatives within the Labor Department.
This contrasts with Chavez-DeRemer, who was appointed largely due to support from Teamsters President Sean O'Brien and drew criticism on the right for her past opposition to right-to-work laws.
There was earlier speculation that former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin was interested in the Labor portfolio. But last week, administration sources told Newsmax that Trump dismissed any possibility of Youngkin joining his team because he felt the former governor "didn't work hard enough" to defeat a Democrat-backed redistricting referendum in his state.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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