Keith Sonderling’s background as a policy wonk inside government and lack of outward partisanship sets him apart from prior nominees to lead of the Labor Department, indicating the Trump administration wants a DOL chief to be a bridge between its working-class voting base and the business leaders it aims to keep loyal.
His predecessor, former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, was expected to fulfill this purpose with backing from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, but her tenure was ultimately derailed by a series of scandals that led to her resignation. Sonderling had effectively run the department day-to-day while Chavez-DeRemer traveled on …