President-elect Donald Trump's transition team at the Department of Labor includes two top agency officials from his first term and a former head of the federal agency that adjudicates labor disputes in the federal civil service.
The Trump transition team recently informed the Biden administration that Virginia Labor Secretary Bryan Slater, former Equal Employment Opportunity Commission member Keith Sonderling and Health Care Executive Thomas Beck were helping to lead the handover at the Frances Perkins building, according to two people familiar with the transition who were not authorized to speak publicly.
Slater served as the DOL's assistant secretary for administration and management under Trump, and Sonderling was the head of the wage and hour division before being appointed to the EEOC for a term that ends earlier this year.
Beck is vice president of labor and employee relations at HCA Healthcare and was a member of the Federal Labor Relations Board from 2008 to 2012 — including a term as chairman. He also served as an advisor during Trump's first-term transition, according to his LinkedIn profile. Other members of the landing team are also expected soon, one of the people said. Other agencies that deal with labor issues, including the EEOC and the National Labor Relations Board, are also expected to have their own landing teams, although there may be some overlap in staffing between them.
"In accordance with the transition memorandum of understanding with the Biden administration, the White House is receiving the names of individuals who will be part of the landing teams," transition spokesman Brian Hughes said in an email. "Members of the landing team are in touch with their counterparts in departments and agencies."
Trump's transition comes after a protracted stalemate over the terms of several key memos that outline the conditions under which officials can access government offices, documents and other items necessary to transfer power from one administration to another.
Landing teams are also important for guiding agencies in the early days of a presidency, when the White House expects the Senate to pass the initial confirmation process that will allow the new leadership to formally take office. To that end, Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.), Trump's pick for labor secretary, began meeting with several Republican senators on Wednesday as part of the confirmation process. Unlike other Trump cabinet appointments, Chavez-DeRemer is not expected to have any trouble getting Senate approval — barring major revelations.
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