Trump’s Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer has resigned from her post as she was facing several scandals and investigations of widespread misconduct, becoming the third Cabinet member of Team Trump to bite the dust.
The New York Post first reported in January that the Labor Department’s inspector general was looking into complaints that Chavez-DeRemer was having an affair with a member of her security team, drinking alcohol on the job and using taxpayer-funded travel to visit with friends and family members. The IG’s investigation was nearing completion and Chavez-DeRemer was expected to have to answer questions.
Chavez-DeRemer’s husband, Shawn DeRemer, an anesthesiologist in Portland, Ore., also had been barred from Labor Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., after at least two staffers reported he had touched them inappropriately. No charges were brought against Dr. DeRemer.
Labor Department employees were feeling frustrated and demoralized with Chavez-DeRemer in the leadership role, with her chief of staff and deputy chief of staff resigning in March. A third senior staff member said she had been fired in early March after giving a four-hour interview to the Office of the IG.
The evidence in the investigation painted a picture of younger female staffers fielding inappropriate requests from Chavez-DeRemer, her family, and close aides.
- Young office females were instructed to “pay attention” to Chavez-DeRemer’s husband and father. One text exchange showed a staffer apologizing to Dr. DeRemer for not checking in, to which he replied, “You better. I was feeling forgotten. I figured you were still in church repenting after your exposure to the demon state of Oregon.”
- Another exchange showed Chavez-DeRemer asking a staffer to bring her a bottle of “josh Sauvi B,” a white wine, to her hotel room on a work trip.
The White House Communications guru Steven Cheung announced on X that Chavez-DeRemer had “done a phenomenal job in her role by protecting American workers, enacting fair labor practices, and helping Americans gain additional skills to improve their lives.” Cheung said she was taking a job in the private sector, but a senior official at the Labor Department said she had resigned.
Keith Sonderling, the deputy secretary of labor, will serve as acting secretary.