Senate HELP Committee hears Jonathan Berry on role as DOL solicitor, Project 2025 and workplace priorities

Jonathan Berry, President Trump's nominee for solicitor of the Department of Labor, told the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee on June 20 that, if confirmed, he would “vindicate” workers’ rights in court and give the secretary the best possible legal advice on the department’s authorities.

Berry opened his remarks by tracing his legal interest in employment disputes to his upbringing and described his prior service in the department’s policy office. “If confirmed as solicitor, it would be my solemn responsibility to vindicate these rights and more of workers before our courts of law,” he said.

The solicitor’s office serves as DOL’s principal legal adviser and represents the department in litigation. Berry emphasized that the role is legal rather than a policy-making position, saying his job would be to keep the department “within its legal bounds” and to advise on “what the law does and does not authorize.”

During questioning, senators pressed Berry about several policy matters he has authored or commented on. Senator Tammy Baldwin cited a chapter Berry contributed to for Project 2025 and asked whether he would support eliminating the Women’s Bureau; Berry said he supports what the administration decides and that, in his chapter, he had not advocated a specific immediate elimination. He told the committee that survey data show some people express a preference for part-time or flexible work and clarified that he was not making a categorical statement about women but reporting survey findings.

Berry also told Senator Lisa Murkowski and other senators that his prior Project 2025 chapter did not call for immediate suspension of H-2A and H-2B visa programs but discussed gradual, capped phase-downs tied to productivity investments. He repeated that, in the solicitor role, he would be focused on enforcement and legal advice rather than direct policymaking.

Berry said he would enforce labor law, including protections for workers against wage theft and unsafe workplaces, while recognizing the role of employers as job creators. He described his litigation background in representing both employers and workers and cited past work challenging what he called unlawful agency overreach under prior administrations.

The hearing included questions about prevailing-wage rules and project labor agreements. Berry said he had not taken a firm policy position in Project 2025 on Davis-Bacon or PLAs and that he would be committed to enforcing existing statutes if confirmed.

No formal action or vote occurred at the hearing. The committee reserved time for additional questions for the record.

Berry’s nomination will proceed through the committee process; senators said they would submit follow-up questions in writing.