Watchdog issues scathing report on Trump’s former labor secretary
Former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer allegedly fostered a "toxic, intimidating and humiliating" workplace when she led the department, a scathing watchdog report released Thursday found.
An investigation by the Labor Department's Office of Inspector General said Chavez-DeRemer, who resigned in April, regularly drank alcohol during the workday, failed to properly report expensive gifts she had received and had an "inappropriately close and unprofessional relationship" with a member of her security detail.
The report comes nearly five months after Chavez-DeRemer left the Trump administration amid allegations of misconduct and abuse of power. She was the third member of President Trump's Cabinet to step down.
Investigators interviewed at least 38 witnesses who consistently described the secretary's office as "toxic, "according to the report. Senior officials allegedly berated staffers in front of colleagues, discussed inappropriate personal matters and threatened to terminate employees.
Investigators also detailed several instances in which Chavez-DeRemer reportedly used government employees to take care of personal matters.
In one case, two employees claimed they traveled in a Labor Department vehicle to Chavez-DeRemer's home during the workday, where they hung her dry cleaning and organized her closet. Staffers also said they were tasked with retrieving the former labor secretary's packages and making personal purchases.
Chavez-DeRemer resigned in April, one day before investigators were scheduled to interview her, the report states. At the time, the White House said she was leaving to take a job in the private sector and praised her work leading the department.
According to a February New York Times report, the Labor Department had been investigating the former secretary and some of her top staff members for months before her departure. The probe reportedly came amid a criminal investigation into her husband, Shawn DeRemer, then accused of sexual assault against two staffers while at the agency's headquarters.
The Times' article cited workplace misconduct allegations against Chavez-DeRemer, a former Republican congresswoman from Oregon, similar to those mentioned in Friday's report.
The former secretary and her husband have disputed these respective accusations.
Her attorney, Nick Oberheiden, pushed back on the inspector general's findings Friday, telling The Washington Post the report "confirms that Secretary Chavez-DeRemer did not violate any laws."
Keith Sonderling, who served as her deputy, took over the department on an acting basis after her departure. President Trump nominated Sonderling to permanently fill the post in June.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
