Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned on Monday as she faces an internal investigation over accusations that she used public funds for personal travel, engaged in politically motivated grantmaking, created a hostile work environment, and engaged in an affair with a subordinate.
Chavez-DeRemer stepped down following weeks of scrutiny from the Labor Department’s inspector general, who has been reviewing workplace-related complaints involving her conduct in office.
White House assistant director of communications Steven Cheung announced her resignation on X and said Keith Sonderling will serve as acting labor secretary.
“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,” Cheung said of Chavez-DeRemer.
The allegations against Chavez-Deremer include using taxpayer-funded travel for personal purposes, directing grants in ways that benefited political allies, and engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate. The inquiry has also examined alleged misconduct with two of her top staffers, as well as an alleged “inappropriate” relationship with a member of her security detail who has since been placed on leave.
The former Oregon congresswoman had already faced mounting questions about her management style and spending practices. Chaves-DeRemer has a history of allegedly going on spending sprees that began while serving as mayor of Happy Valley, Oregon, but grew more expensive when she ran for Congress. She has previously defended her record.
Previous reporting by the Washington Examiner shows Chavez-DeRemer’s congressional campaign expenditures included $1,512 in campaign funds spent at the St. Regis ski resort in Utah, nearly $7,000 at the Phoenician, a resort in Arizona, roughly $2,000 to the lakeside Otesaga Resort Hotel in upstate New York, and $2,585 in payments to the Inn at the Pier in Pismo Beach, California.
Chavez-DeRemer’s husband, Dr. Shawn DeRemer, an anesthesiologist, was barred from Labor Department property last month after it was alleged he inappropriately touched two at least two female employees at the department’s Washington offices.
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The labor secretary was confirmed earlier this year, and had been seen as a politically strategic pick with President Donald Trump tapping her as part of a broader effort to appeal to working-class voters and expand Republican support among union households.
Trump has previously announced when secretaries would be leaving his administration, such as with former Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.