Keith Sonderling

Lawyer

Another of the cadre of conservative lawyers within DOGE, Sonderling had been the commisioner of the EEOC in the previous Trump administration. He was tapped to be Deputy Secretary by Trump for DOL, but he has also served as support for Nate Cavanaugh’s wrecking crew. Exploiting a rule in the Vacancies Act that lets the administraion named appointed officials as acting leaders of other agencies, DOGE has named Sonderling as the acting leaders in the IMLS and MBDA so he could order their destruction.

Positions

Position	Notes
DOL	Source Onboarding documentation at DOL for Keith Sonderling Document Cloud, 2025-07-15 DOL 1/20/25-3/23/25 Senior Advisor ($195,200) DOL 3/23/25 promoted to Deputy Secretary of Labor ($183,100)
IMLS	Source DOGE Descends on the Institute for Museum and Library Services ArtNet News, 2025-03-20 IMLS 3/20/25 Acting Director
MBDA	Source Letter from the Senate Commerce Committee to Keith Sonderling about MBDA The Senate Commerce Committee, 2025-04-30 MBDA c.4/17/25 Acting Undersecretary «Nate Cavanaugh sent out grant rejections under the authority of Sonderling as Acting Undersecretary»

Events

Date	Event
3/20/25 IMLS	Source Keith E. Sonderling Sworn In as Acting Director of Institute of Museum and Library Services Institute of Museum and Library Services, 2025-03-20 Official After being sworn in as the acting director of the IMLS, Keith Sonderling issues a statement that he “will revitalize IMLS and restore focus on patriotism, ensuring we preserve our country’s core values, promote American exceptionalism and cultivate love of country in future generations.”
3/20/25 IMLS	Source DOGE Descends on the Institute for Museum and Library Services ArtNet News, 2025-03-20 Sighting DOGE arrives at IMLS HQ and are startled to find most of the staff there. The DOGE representatives quickly swear in Keith Sonderling as acting director of IMLS and then leave.
4/17/25 MBDA	Source State of Rhode Island v. Trump, doc 45-1 Court Document, 2025-04-17 Disruption According to a sworn declaration by an employee of MBDA, Nate Cavanaugh sends emails terminating MBDA grants under the authority of Keith Sonderling, who is the acting undersecretary of the MBDA
4/30/25 MBDA	Source Letter from the Senate Commerce Committee to Keith Sonderling about MBDA The Senate Commerce Committee, 2025-04-30 Oversight Democratic members of the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation send a letter to Keith Sonderling requesting details on his appointment as acting undersecretary of the MBDA and other information about DOGE’s takeover and destruction of the agency.
6/12/25 IMLS	Source Results Vary in Legal Efforts to Restore IMLS Publishers Weekly, 2025-06-18 Legal The plaintiffs in Rhode Island v. Trump et al file an amended complaint asking the court to rule that the IMLS closure was unconstitutional and violated the Administrative Procedures Act. As part of this filing, they issued summons to Keith Sonderling, Donald Trump, Howard Lutnick and Russell Vought. They have 60 days to respond, pushing the nest phase of the trial to August.