White House thanks Chavez-DeRemer for “phenomenal job” as inspector general interview loomed this week.
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigns this week to “take a position in the private sector,” the White House announced Monday, days before she was scheduled to be interviewed by the Labor Department’s inspector general in a months-long misconduct investigation.
“She has 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,” White House communications director Steven Cheung said.
Deputy Secretary Keith Sonderling will serve as acting secretary. Department employees told The New York Times he had effectively been running the department for months.
Why The Labor Secretary Resigns Now
The investigation, prompted by a whistleblower complaint first reported in January, examined allegations that Chavez-DeRemer was having an affair with a member of her security detail, arranged official trips to destinations where she could see family, and exceeded federal spending limits on “fancy hotels, S.U.V. rentals and meals.” She was also accused of taking staff to a strip club during work hours.
Four people have been forced out in connection with the probe. The security detail member was placed on administrative leave. Senator Charles Grassley opened a parallel inquiry, and three hostile work environment complaints were filed with the department’s civil rights office.
The Family Group Chat
Investigators also reviewed messages sent to young female staffers by the secretary’s husband, Dr. Shawn DeRemer, and her father, Richard Chavez.
“Hearing you are in town. Wishing you would let me know. I could have made some excuses to get out and show you around. Please keep this private,” the father wrote, according to the Times.
The husband responded to a staffer who had apologized for being out of touch: “You better. I was feeling forgotten. I figured you were still in church repenting after your exposure to the demon state of Oregon.” Dr. DeRemer has been barred from Labor Department headquarters since February, after two staffers accused him of unwanted sexual contact.
Young women in the executive office were instructed by the secretary and her former deputy chief of staff to “pay attention” to her husband and father. In one 2025 message, Chavez-DeRemer asked a staffer to bring a bottle of “josh Sauvi B” to her hotel room during a work trip.
The Deep State Explanation
In a post from her personal account Monday night, the former secretary said the allegations “have been peddled by high-ranked deep state actors” coordinating with “the one-sided news media” to undermine the president. Her attorney told reporters the departure “is not the result of legal wrongdoings. It is a personal decision.”
The labor secretary resigns as the third cabinet official to exit in six weeks, following Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi. The Labor Department building where she served displays a multi-story banner of the president’s face on its exterior. In August, the president fired the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner after a weak jobs report.
Her inspector general interview had been scheduled for this week.
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