The previous secretary of labor (the late Justice Scalia’s son) was an anti-worker ideologue who did everything possible to undermine/block the department’s mission, including helping firms to not provide health benefits, steal workers’ overtime pay, discriminate against women and minorities, avoid occupational safety rules, unlawfully block union organizing, etc.

It is a good thing for the leader of a government department to have ideological goals broadly aligned with the mission of the institution.