Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer out amid misconduct investigation : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6263x4175+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F89%2F5b%2F201dfe434ee783b7e9d0c14b58a1%2Fgettyimages-2215772999.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6263x4175+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F89%2F5b%2F201dfe434ee783b7e9d0c14b58a1%2Fgettyimages-2215772999.jpg" class="img" alt="Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer looks on during a Congressional hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on May 22, 2025." fetchpriority="high"/> Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer seems on throughout a Congressional listening to on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Could 22, 2025. Drew Angerer/AFP by way of Getty Pictures disguise caption

toggle caption

Drew Angerer/AFP by way of Getty Pictures Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is leaving her submit amid an inner investigation introduced on by complaints about misconduct.

White Home Director of Communications Steven Cheung introduced the departure on X, writing "she has performed an exceptional job in her function by defending American employees, enacting honest labor practices, and serving to Individuals achieve further abilities to enhance their lives." Cheung mentioned Chavez-DeRemer was taking a place within the personal sector.

A senior official on the Labor Division not licensed to talk publicly concerning the departure mentioned the secretary had resigned.

Chavez-DeRemer is the third cupboard member to go away throughout President Trump's second time period.

In early March, Trump fired Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem shortly after lawmakers on Capitol Hill berated her over her company's dealing with of immigration enforcement — in addition to its $220 million advert marketing campaign that includes the secretary on horseback.

A month later, Legal professional Normal Pam Bondi left amid simmering frustration over her management of the Justice Division and her dealing with of the Jeffrey Epstein recordsdata.

Whereas Chavez-DeRemer has performed a far much less seen function than Bondi or Noem in Trump's second time period, her tenure has additionally been marked by controversy.

In January, the New York Publish first reported that the Labor Division's inspector normal was wanting into complaints that Chavez-DeRemer was having an affair with a subordinate, ingesting alcohol on the job and utilizing taxpayer-funded journey to go to with family and friends members.

NPR has not independently verified the contents of the investigation.

Whereas in workplace, Chavez-DeRemer spent a lot of her time away from Washington. A yr in the past, she launched her "America at Work" listening tour, an initiative that took her to all 50 states.

Chavez-DeRemer's chief of workers and deputy chief of workers, who had been on go away since January, resigned in early March. A 3rd senior member of her workers, Melissa Robey, mentioned in a press release issued March 26 that she had been fired a pair days earlier, after giving a four-hour interview to the Workplace of the Inspector Normal.

In the meantime, the New York Occasions was first to report that Chavez-DeRemer's husband, Shawn DeRemer, an anesthesiologist in Portland, Ore., had been barred from Labor Division headquarters in Washington, D.C., after a minimum of two staffers reported he had touched them inappropriately. Washington, D.C. police and federal prosecutors closed the investigations with out bringing costs.

An unconventional selection Trump's choice of Chavez-DeRemer to steer the Labor Division was seen by many as a concession to Teamsters President Sean O'Brien. O'Brien had been pleasant with Trump by the presidential marketing campaign, taking a prime-time talking slot on the 2024 Republican Nationwide Conference and later declining to endorse Trump's opponent, then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

O'Brien had pushed for Chavez-DeRemer's choice, noting that she was one among just a few Republicans in Congress to have supported the PRO Act. That invoice aimed to make it simpler for employees to prepare unions, together with by overturning state Proper to Work legal guidelines, which weaken unions.

On the time, Trump wrote, "Lori's robust assist from each the Enterprise and Labor communities will be certain that the Labor Division can unite Individuals of all backgrounds."

Deputy Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, who has already been operating a lot of the day-to-day operations of the Labor Division, has been named appearing secretary, in keeping with Cheung's submit on X.

Sonderling beforehand served on the Labor Division throughout the first Trump administration and on the Equal Employment Alternative Fee underneath the Biden administration, having been nominated by Trump throughout his first time period to fill a Republican seat.