Former CKE Restaurants Holdings Inc. CEO Andrew Puzder is among the contenders being considered by President-elect
Puzder was Trump’s original choice for labor secretary when he was first elected in 2017. He and Patrick Pizzella, who served as deputy secretary of labor during the first Trump administration, are in the running to head the US Labor Department, according to Roger King of the HR Policy Association and another source in contact with the Trump transition team.
Whoever is ultimately confirmed to the role will steer the agency as it’s expected to slash regulations viewed as anti-business under the Trump agenda. Those include Biden-era measures to expand overtime pay eligibility to millions of workers, allow for the consideration of environmental, social, and governance factors in employee retirement investments, and extend labor organizing rights to agricultural workers on seasonal visas.
Johnny C. Taylor Jr., president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management, is also in contention, according to King, who said he’s been in communication with the transition team.
Keith Sonderling, a former DOL official who recently completed a term on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, has also been floated for a leadership role, King said.
However, all sources who spoke to Bloomberg Law for this story also suggested that Trump may ultimately pick a “wild card” that no one expects.
Former DOL Official
King said he believes Pizzella “would set the right tone” at the agency.
Pizzella, who has been serving as mayor of Pinehurst, N.C., since 2021, has more than a decade of experience throughout multiple administrations at the DOL.
During the first Trump presidency, he was named deputy labor secretary in 2018 and was acting head of the agency for about two months in 2019 after then-Secretary Alexander Acosta stepped down. The Trump-era DOL shepherded through rules to make it easier for companies to treat their workers as independent contractors instead of employees, and limited instances where businesses could be found liable for labor violations as joint employers.
Pizzella also played an active role in encouraging employer participation in the Trump-era Payroll Audit Independent Determination program, which allowed employers to self report wage-and-hour violations to avoid penalties and litigation.
“Pizzella would have perhaps the inside track, because he knows the department so well,” King said. “Pat has virtually no enemies at least that I’m aware of, and has credibility even within the union movement.”
Prior to joining the DOL, Pizzella was a member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority from 2013 to 2017, until he was tapped as chair of the panel by Trump in 2017. Pizzella also served as assistant secretary in charge of administration and management at the DOL during the George W. Bush administration.
Trump’s Former Pick
One thing Pizzella lacks is “star power” compared to other potential contenders on the short list like Puzder, one source in contact with the transition team said.
“The president elect has indicated in phone calls to Puzder that he may have a role in his next administration,” the source with knowledge of the transition team said.
But a potential nomination for Puzder, who ran the parent company of restaurant chains Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr., could run into the same issues that led to him dropping out of the running in 2017 and Trump nominating Alexander Acosta in his place.
Puzder faced fire over his stance on immigration and after admitting he employed an undocumented housekeeper. Domestic-abuse allegations stemming from a prior divorce also resurfaced as the Senate was preparing to vet the nominee.
Other Contenders
Taylor has led SHRM, an organization that advocates for and provides analysis and commentary on workplace-related issues, since 2017. Prior to joining SHRM, he was president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, and also held senior HR leadership positions at Paramount Parks and Blockbuster Entertainment.
In response to a request for comment, Taylor said he has not been offered the nomination, but if he was picked, “I would give it careful consideration, guided by my commitment to advancing the workforce and improving labor conditions for all Americans.”
“I am committed to ensuring that any role I undertake aligns with this core value and contributes meaningfully to the collective well-being of our nation’s workers and those who employ them,” he said in an emailed statement. “I look forward to engaging with the Trump administration in any capacity to ensure that our workforce can thrive in an evolving economic landscape.”
Sonderling, a Republican former EEOC commissioner from 2020 to 2024, previously served as acting administrator and later deputy administrator of the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division from 2019 to the end of Trump’s first term.
When asked about the transition team being set up for the DOL and for comment on the names being considered for labor secretary, Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said “President-Elect Trump will begin making decisions on who will serve in his second Administration soon.”
“Those decisions will be announced when they are made,” she said in an emailed statement.
Pizzella and Sonderling declined to comment for this story. Puzder and Taylor didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
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