U.S. President Trump announced via social media on Monday that he plans to nominate Keith Sonderling as Secretary of Labor. Sonderling is a Republican with years of experience in federal agencies. The news originated from a post Trump made on the Truth Social platform.post。

Sonderling previously served as Deputy Secretary of Labor and took over the department in an acting capacity after Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned in April. Chavez-DeRemer's resignation came after reports of an investigation into potential misconduct.

Before joining the Labor Department, Sonderling served in the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor and as a commissioner on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

During his tenure at the Labor Department, Sonderling publicly supportedemployer-friendly regulations, as well as programs encouraging employers to conductself-audits—that is, encouraging employers to proactively report labor law violations and take corrective action.

As an EEOC commissioner, Sonderling also supported thefederal agency opinion lettersystem, believing such letters serve as a liability shield for employers while also benefiting courts, workers, and unions.

He also urged employers to conductself-auditsbefore deploying artificial intelligence tools. Sonderling said at the 2021 American Bar Association conference that employers should "evaluate algorithms early and often for biased outcomes and redesign them as appropriate." He called on the EEOC to take a leading role in this area and encouraged attendees to contact him with any guidance needs.

Later that year, in acommentary articlehe wrote for HR Dive, he said AI can help eliminate bias from the earliest stages of the hiring process. He wrote: "I believe we can—and must—fully realize AI's potential to enhance human decision-making while fully complying with the law." But he also cautioned that stakeholders must remain "vigilant" about the technology's limitations and "keep in mind the legal and ethical obligations that bind us all."

Shortly after Trump announced the nomination, Sonderlingresponded on social media, saying that if confirmed by the Senate, he looks forward to "advancing the President's agenda on behalf of American workers, families, unions, and job creators." As of press time, the Labor Department had no further comment.