参议院周三晚以47票对41票确认劳工部代理部长基思·桑德林正式担任该职位，填补了自4月以来总统特朗普内阁中正式空缺的一个席位。
The Senate voted 47-41 Wednesday night to confirm Keith Sonderling, acting Secretary of Labor, to the post permanently — filling a seat in President Trump’s cabinet that has been officially empty since April.
所有在场的共和党人都投票支持桑德林的提名，所有民主党人都投了反对票，但提名只需多数票即可通过。
All Republicans present voted for Sonderling’s nomination, and all Democrats voted against it, but the nomination only needed a majority to succeed.
12名参议员缺席投票，因为参议院很可能在周四休会至中期选举之后。
Twelve senators missed the vote, as the chamber is likely to recess Thursday until after the midterm elections.
43岁的桑德林自其前任洛里·查韦斯-德雷默今年早些时候因家人受到多项调查而辞职以来一直担任代理部长。参议院去年三月确认桑德林为德雷默的副手。
Sonderling, 43, has been acting secretary since his predecessor, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, resigned earlier this year amid various investigations into members of her family. The Senate confirmed Sonderling as DeRemer’s deputy last March.
这位内阁任命者在特朗普第一个任期内一直在劳工部工作，直到2024年还是参议院确认的平等就业机会委员会成员，该委员会处理工作场所歧视投诉。桑德林被认为总体上对雇主友好。
The cabinet appointee worked in the Department of Labor throughout Trump’s first term and until 2024 was a Senate-confirmed member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which handles workplace discrimination claims. Sonderling is seen as generally employer friendly.
商会执行副总裁兼首席政策官尼尔·布拉德利周二发表声明支持确认桑德林。
Neil Bradley, executive vice president and chief policy officer at the Chamber of Commerce, released a statement in favor of confirming Sonderling on Tuesday.
“正如在他的确认听证会上和整个职业生涯中所展示的那样，桑德林先生是一位高度合格的被提名人，他的领导和远见将确保劳工部继续履行其使命，同时促进经济增长和创造就业，”布拉德利写道。
“As demonstrated during his confirmation hearing and throughout his career, Mr. Sonderling is a highly qualified nominee whose leadership and vision will ensure the Department of Labor continues to uphold its mission while fostering economic growth and job creation,” Bradley wrote.
在7月最近的确认听证会上，民主党人质疑他在劳工部的过往举措——例如废除拜登时代一项让更多工人获得加班费的规则——同时借此机会表达他们对特朗普政府下经济状况的不满。
During his recent confirmation hearing in July, Democrats questioned him over his past moves at the Labor department — such as rolling back a Biden-era rule granting more workers access to overtime pay — while taking the chance to their discontent with the state of the economy under the Trump administration.
“我担心任何确认你的投票都是为了让更多同样的事情发生：剥夺我们工人的加班保护，削弱我们的工会，让大公司 literally 逍遥法外，”参议员帕蒂·默里（华盛顿州民主党人）在听证会上说。
"I fear any vote to confirm you is for more of the same: to strip overtime protections for our workers, to undercut our unions and to let giant corporations get away with robbery, literally," Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said at the hearing.