This morning, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer testified before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor and Health and Human Services regarding President Trump’s fiscal year 2026 budget request. Apprenticeship programs, as well as the Trump Administration’s proposed “Make America Skilled Again” (MASA) block grants, were a key focus of the hearing. Chavez-DeRemer noted during the hearing that workforce training and apprenticeships were a key part of the Trump Administration’s “worker centric” approach and explained that the President’s budget gives states and localities flexibility to spend workforce dollars in the way that makes the most sense for their areas. She added that consolidating workforce training under MASA will give state and localities the ability to focus on delivering high-quality training for their workers and spend less time complying with burdensome federal program requirements. She also noted that to achieve the Trump Administration’s goal of 1 million new apprentices, she will be presenting the President with a plan to reorient federal workforce programs to prepare the U.S. economy for reshoring and re-industrialization.
During the hearing, Subcommittee Ranking Member Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) criticized the Trump Administration for “going backwards on apprenticeship,” pointing to the cancellation of several apprenticeship contracts and to the President’s budget request, which she said “really decimates” funding for state and local workforce programs. Also during the hearing, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) applauded Chavez-DeRemer for her department’s efforts on deregulation, specifically mentioning the Biden-era SWACCA-supported independent contractor rule, which Capito said “has jeopardized the ability of as many as 70 million freelancers…and others to earn a living that best fits their schedules and needs.”