Key Senators Reject Trump’s Proposed Cuts to Labor Department

Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling defended the Trump administration’s proposed cuts to his agency to Senate appropriators skeptical of suggested changes to workforce training programs.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, along with Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), signaled opposition to eliminating the Job Corps program, part of the White House’s budget for the Department of Labor next fiscal year.

“I am very disappointed that the department’s 2027 budget request once again proposes eliminating Job Corps and part of the department’s justification is the performance data that has been distorted by the department’s own actions,” Collins told Sonderling during his first appearance before Congress as the head of the DOL. “I really think we need to take a second look at this.”

The DOL proposed a 26% decrease to its fiscal year 2027 budget. The changes proposed—including the elimination of Job Corps, consolidation of workforce training programs under a $3.5 billion framework titled “Make America Skilled Again,” and cuts to the department’s enforcement mechanisms—were similar to what the White House outlined for fiscal year 2026. Those budget cuts were rejected by Congress last year and the DOL saw the programs mostly flat-funded for the current year.

Sonderling maintained that Job Corps doesn’t train workers efficiently. He said the DOL was reallocating money to other workforce development initiatives.

The DOL halted operations at all Job Corps sites last year, shuttering facilities that served low-income adults across the nation and saying that the $1.5 billion program was too costly for the amount of skilled laborers coming out of it. The move was later stalled by two federal district courts.

Not Adopting the Budget

Murphy echoed Collins, calling its elimination a “huge mistake,” and asking if decreasing the DOL’s budget by more than a quarter would result in fewer job trainees.

“No, we are asking you to put the money in more-effective programs,” Sonderling replied. “We’re eliminating some of the programs and then allowing the states to design their own programs as opposed to shoveling the money into one silo.”

Murphy said there’s “no way” the DOL can cut funding without losing training spots.

“I don’t think we’re going to adopt this budget.”

This was the first in what will likely be a series of congressional hearings for the acting secretary, who was elevated to the top job after former Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned amid a growing misconduct investigation.

The hearings present Sonderling with one of his first opportunities to represent the department on a public stage. Many in the business community see him as an obvious choice for a full nomination from President Donald Trump.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who leads the panel responsible for funding DOL and other agencies, also pressed the acting secretary on cuts to the Mine Safety and Health Administration as well as reforms to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The proposed budget seeks $40 million less in MSHA funding and floats moving BLS to the Commerce Department. Sonderling said MSHA would lessen its physical footprint, moving from seven regional offices to five, bring in over 100 new mine inspectors, and invest in AI-powered technology to make them more efficient.