Labor Secretary resigns amid misconduct investigation

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer has resigned from President Donald Trump's Cabinet, the White House announced April 19, making her the third Cabinet official to depart during Trump's second term.

White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement posted to X,that Chavez-DeRemer will be leaving the administration “to take a position in the private sector.”

“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. 

He added that Deputy Secretary Keith Sonderling will serve as Acting Secretary of Labor.

The allegations 

The move follows an internal investigation into misconduct allegations involving Chavez-DeRemer.

The probe began in January 2026 after a complaint filed with the Labor Department’s inspector general’s office alleged she pursued an inappropriate romantic relationship with a subordinate on her security detail, drank alcohol while on duty, and directed aides to arrange official travel that was partly for personal use — conduct described in the complaint as “travel fraud.”

Investigators examined whether her chief of staff, Jihun Han, and deputy chief of staff, Rebecca Wright — both of whom joined her from her congressional office — helped arrange official events as cover for personal trips. 

According to reporting by the Times, investigators reviewed text messages in which Chavez-DeRemer asked a staff member to bring rosé to her hotel room during an official visit to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and messages in which Wright instructed an employee to pick up “a bottle or 2” of wine so the secretary could toast the end of a meeting.

Four people were forced out as a result of the probe, including Han, Wright, and the member of Chavez-DeRemer’s security detail with whom she was accused of having a relationship.

Three current or former staff members have also filed civil rights complaints alleging a hostile work environment.

The investigation further reviewed messages sent by Chavez-DeRemer’s father, Richard Chavez, and the secretary’s husband, Dr. Shawn DeRemer, to young female staffers. In one message reviewed by the Times, her father wrote to an employee suggesting he could “show u around” and asked her to keep the exchange private. He has not been accused of wrongdoing.

Dr. DeRemer, an anesthesiologist, was barred from the department’s headquarters after at least two women accused him of making unwanted physical advances inside the building. One woman filed a report with Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department, but federal prosecutors and local police declined to bring charges.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called the allegations “troubling” and requested internal records from the department.

Chavez-DeRemer calls tenure an ‘honor’ as she departs

In her own farewell statement, Chavez-DeRemer said "It has been an honor and a privilege to serve in this historic Administration and work for the greatest President of my lifetime. While my time serving in the Administration comes to a conclusion, it doesn't mean I will stop fighting for American workers."

Sonderling, a former commissioner at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, thanked the President "for the opportunity to serve as Acting Secretary of Labor," adding, "We will keep up the fight to put American workers first."