Watchdog report alleges misconduct by Trump’s former labour secretary

A national watchdog successful the United States has published a study detailing allegations of misconduct involving erstwhile US Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who resigned successful April.

On Thursday night, the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General released 44 pages detailing incidents wherever Chavez-DeRemer reportedly blurred the enactment betwixt her nationalist bureau and idiosyncratic life.

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The study drew from 500 documents and interviews with 53 existent and erstwhile Labor Department employees, arsenic good arsenic 1 worker from different national agency.

It said 38 of the interviewees described the secretary’s bureau arsenic a “toxic, intimidating and humiliating” workplace.

It besides accuses Chavez-DeRemer of utilizing authorities employees for backstage errands, drinking intoxicant successful her bureau during moving hours and processing an “inappropriate relationship” with a subordinate of her information detail.

The rumours of misconduct yet forced Chavez-DeRemer to permission her station connected April 20.

She became the 3rd furniture caput to permission the 2nd medication of President Donald Trump, aft the departures of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier this year.

A ‘toxic’ environment

Chavez-DeRemer, a erstwhile Republican Congress subordinate from Oregon, was sworn successful connected March 11, 2025. Her presumption lasted conscionable implicit a year.

The last months of her tenure saw the resignations of respective high-level unit members. One, Melissa Robey, claimed successful media reports that she was fired nether unit from the White House aft sitting down with the inspector general’s office.

Thursday’s study alleged that Chavez-DeRemer oversaw a hostile workplace, with elder unit having “routinely engaged successful threatening, demeaning, and abusive verbal and written communication” towards their colleagues.

It cited incidents of Labor Department employees being berated successful beforehand of colleagues and threatened with termination.

Some of the episodes progressive Chavez-DeRemer’s main of staff, Rebecca Wright. She allegedly relocated 1 employee’s table to debar having a “fat person” seen successful the beforehand office, and she reportedly advised different worker not to chopped her hairsbreadth excessively abbreviated to debar looking similar a “lesbian”.

The study alleges that Chavez-DeRemer was alert of specified incidents but failed to instrumentality enactment to forestall them from happening.

Allegations of inappropriate requests

Investigators besides recovered that Chavez-DeRemer herself directed authorities employees to execute idiosyncratic tasks during authoritative time.

A idiosyncratic adjutant and enforcement adjunct were reportedly sent to her residence to organise her closet, bent laundry and put her covering and purses.

Investigators said different employee, who was Hispanic, was directed to oversee workers astatine Chavez-DeRemer’s home, including a moving crew.

Employees were besides tasked with buying idiosyncratic items, including gifts, representation frames, vacation decorations and alcohol, according to the report.

Chavez-DeRemer, Wright and her lawman main of unit besides regularly drank intoxicant successful the secretary’s survey during work hours, according to witnesser reports. Some employees said they felt pressured oregon ridiculed erstwhile they declined to participate.

Department of Labor argumentation requires beforehand written authorisation for intoxicant connected national property. Investigators recovered nary grounds that the required support had been obtained.

Relationship with information detail

The watchdog besides zeroed successful connected aspects of Chavez-DeRemer’s idiosyncratic behaviour that violated authorities morals standards.

Regulations prohibit authorities employees from utilizing their bureau “to coerce oregon induce different person, including a subordinate, to provide” them with “any fiscal oregon different benefit”.

It besides bars officials from requesting subordinates to usage government time for activities that autumn extracurricular their job’s authoritative duties.

But the study determined that Chavez-DeRemer developed an “inappropriately adjacent and unprofessional” narration with a elder cause connected her protective detail.

Witnesses reported seeing Chavez-DeRemer massaging the agent’s shoulder, golfing and gambling with him, and leaving an lawsuit walking arm-in-arm.

The report, however, did not find “sufficient” grounds to reason the narration was sexual.

Still, investigators documented behaviour wherever the narration betwixt Chavez-DeRemer and the cause created conflicts of involvement oregon inappropriate enactment situations.

The study describes an April 2025 incidental successful which Chavez-DeRemer was taking a idiosyncratic travel to Oregon and asked her information item to marque an off-the-record halt astatine a nine featuring partially nude dancers.

The elder cause she was progressive with was besides connected the trip. A limousine operator objected to her requests to driblet wealth onto a performer, but the elder cause reportedly instructed him to comply.

The cause occasionally reduced the fig of officers covering Chavez-DeRemer oregon assumed sole work for her protection.

Investigators obtained physics edifice doorway fastener records suggesting the 2 spent clip overnight successful each other’s rooms and reviewed video footage that documented his visits to her home.

Unreported gifts and excess spending

The study besides recovered question argumentation violations involving excessive spending.

In November 2025, for instance, Chavez-DeRemer and 2 different officials reportedly stayed astatine hotels successful Palm Beach, Florida, to be an America First Policy Institute gala.

The outgo for their lodging approached oregon exceeded 3 times the authorities reimbursement rate, contempt determination being nary documentation showing the required support for the accrued costs.

Investigators further recovered that Chavez-DeRemer failed to study respective gifts to the government, including rodeo tickets, an alligator-hide wallet and cowboy hats fixed to her and her husband.

Federal authorities officials are required to study gifts they person arsenic portion of their authoritative duties, to debar conflicts of interest.

In its conclusion, the watchdog study recommends structural changes to the Labor Department, including removing the protective units from the secretary’s oversight.

Such agents, it suggested, could alternatively enactment nether the inspector general’s office.

The study besides called for autarkic question audits, stronger whistleblower protections and yearly grooming for elder leaders.

Since resigning her furniture post, Chavez-DeRemer has announced she has taken up a elder advisor presumption astatine Think Big, a nationalist affairs firm.

According to the company’s website, the erstwhile caput heads a signifier dedicated to labour and nationalist infrastructure.