WASHINGTON — The White House announced Monday that Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer has departed from President Donald Trump’s Cabinet amid mounting allegations that she misused her authority, including claims of an inappropriate relationship with a staff member and consuming alcohol during work hours.
This marks the third Cabinet official to exit Trump’s administration, following the president’s dismissal of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in March and the removal of Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier this month.
In a departure from typical protocol, Chavez-DeRemer’s resignation was not announced through Trump’s social media channels but rather by a White House spokesperson.
White House communications director Steven Cheung posted on X that “Labor Secretary Lori 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 announced that Keith Sonderling, who currently serves as deputy labor secretary, will step into the acting secretary role. The resignation was initially reported by NOTUS.
Her resignation comes after investigations that began emerging in January regarding her conduct in office.
Last Wednesday, The New York Times published findings that the Labor Department’s inspector general was examining evidence showing Chavez-DeRemer and her senior staff and family members regularly sent personal communications and requests to junior staff members.
According to the newspaper’s reporting, both Chavez-DeRemer’s spouse and father had text message exchanges with young female employees. Sources familiar with the investigation told the Times that some staff members received instructions from the secretary and her former deputy chief of staff to “pay attention” to her family members.
These communications came to light during a wider probe into Chavez-DeRemer’s management style that started after The New York Post reported in January about a complaint filed with the Labor Department’s inspector general alleging she had a relationship with a subordinate.
Additional accusations included claims that she consumed alcohol while on duty and directed staff to organize official travel that served primarily personal purposes.
Initially, both the White House and Labor Department dismissed the misconduct reports as unfounded. However, their denials became less emphatic as additional allegations surfaced, leading to speculation in Washington about her job security.
The New York Times reported that at least four Labor Department officials have already been removed from their positions as the investigation advanced, including Chavez-DeRemer’s former chief of staff and deputy chief of staff, plus a security detail member with whom she allegedly had the affair.
“I think the secretary demonstrated a lot of wisdom in resigning,” commented Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., on Monday following the announcement of her departure.
The Senate confirmed Chavez-DeRemer to Trump’s Cabinet with a 67-32 vote in March 2025. A former GOP House member, she previously represented a competitive district in Oregon and had garnered uncommon union support for a Republican before losing her reelection bid in November 2024.
During her congressional tenure, Chavez-DeRemer supported measures that would facilitate federal-level unionization efforts and backed separate legislation designed to protect Social Security benefits for public sector workers.
Several major labor organizations, including the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, endorsed Chavez-DeRemer for Labor Secretary, noting her background as a Teamster’s daughter. Political analysts viewed Trump’s selection of her as an attempt to court voters with labor union connections.
However, other influential labor leaders remained doubtful when she was nominated, questioning whether Chavez-DeRemer would pursue pro-union policies within a Republican administration. During her Senate confirmation proceedings, some senators expressed concerns about her ability to maintain that reputation in an administration that terminated thousands of federal workers.
Beyond the recent misconduct allegations, Chavez-DeRemer maintained a relatively low profile among Trump’s Cabinet appointments while implementing significant steps to advance the administration’s deregulation objectives.
The Labor Department under her leadership initiated efforts to revise or eliminate over 60 workplace regulations deemed outdated. These rollbacks affected minimum wage standards for home health care workers and individuals with disabilities, along with regulations covering exposure to dangerous materials and mining safety protocols. Union leaders and workplace safety advocates criticized these efforts.
The proposed modifications also included removing requirements for employers to provide sufficient lighting at construction sites and seat belts for agricultural workers in most employer-supplied vehicles.
Under Chavez-DeRemer’s leadership, the Trump administration terminated millions of dollars in international grants that a Labor Department division managed to fight child labor and forced labor globally, halting programs that had contributed to reducing the worldwide number of child laborers by 78 million over two decades.
The Labor Department oversees extensive responsibilities related to the American workforce, including publishing unemployment statistics, regulating workplace health and safety standards, investigating disputes over minimum wage, child labor and overtime compensation, and enforcing laws regarding union organization and wrongful terminations.
