Watchdog Report Details Misconduct Allegations Against Former Labor Secretary Chavez-DeRemer

A federal watchdog in the United States has published a report detailing allegations of misconduct involving former US Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who resigned in April.

On Thursday night, the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General released 44 pages detailing incidents where Chavez-DeRemer reportedly blurred the line between her public office and personal life.

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The report drew from 500 documents and interviews with 53 current and former Labor Department employees, as well as one employee from another federal agency.

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

It also accuses Chavez-DeRemer of using government employees for private errands, drinking alcohol in her office during working hours and developing an “inappropriate relationship” with a member of her security detail.

The rumours of misconduct ultimately forced Chavez-DeRemer to leave her post on April 20.

She became the third cabinet secretary to leave the second administration of President Donald Trump, after the departures of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier this year.

A ‘toxic’ environment

Chavez-DeRemer, a former Republican Congress member from Oregon, was sworn in on March 11, 2025. Her position lasted just over a year.

The final months of her tenure saw the resignations of several high-level staff members. One, Melissa Robey, claimed in media reports that she was fired under pressure from the White House after sitting down with the inspector general’s office.

Thursday’s report alleged that Chavez-DeRemer oversaw a hostile workplace, with senior staff having “routinely engaged in threatening, demeaning, and abusive verbal and written communication” towards their colleagues.

It cited incidents of Labor Department employees being berated in front of colleagues and threatened with termination.

Some of the episodes involved Chavez-DeRemer’s chief of staff, Rebecca Wright. She allegedly relocated one employee’s desk to avoid having a “fat person” seen in the front office, and she reportedly advised another employee not to cut her hair too short to avoid looking like a “lesbian”.

The report alleges that Chavez-DeRemer was aware of such incidents but failed to take action to prevent them from happening.

Allegations of inappropriate requests

Investigators also found that Chavez-DeRemer herself directed government employees to perform personal tasks during official time.

A personal aide and executive assistant were reportedly sent to her residence to organise her closet, hang laundry and arrange her clothing and purses.

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

Employees were also tasked with buying personal items, including gifts, picture frames, holiday decorations and alcohol, according to the report.

Chavez-DeRemer, Wright and her deputy chief of staff also regularly drank alcohol in the secretary’s study during duty hours, according to witness reports. Some employees said they felt pressured or ridiculed when they declined to participate.

Department of Labor policy requires advance written authorisation for alcohol on federal property. Investigators found no record that the required approval had been obtained.

Relationship with security detail

The watchdog also zeroed in on aspects of Chavez-DeRemer’s personal behaviour that violated government ethics standards.

Regulations prohibit government employees from using their office “to coerce or induce another person, including a subordinate, to provide” them with “any financial or other benefit”.

It also bars officials from requesting subordinates to use government time for activities that fall outside their job’s official duties.

But the report determined that Chavez-DeRemer developed an “inappropriately close and unprofessional” relationship with a senior agent on her protective detail.

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

The report, however, did not find “sufficient” evidence to conclude the relationship was sexual.

Still, investigators documented conduct where the relationship between Chavez-DeRemer and the agent created conflicts of interest or inappropriate work situations.

The report describes an April 2025 incident in which Chavez-DeRemer was taking a personal trip to Oregon and asked her security detail to make an off-the-record stop at a club featuring partially nude dancers.

The senior agent she was involved with was also on the trip. A limousine driver objected to her requests to drop money onto a performer, but the senior agent reportedly instructed him to comply.

The agent occasionally reduced the number of officers covering Chavez-DeRemer or assumed sole responsibility for her protection.

Investigators obtained electronic hotel door lock records suggesting the two spent time overnight in each other’s rooms and reviewed video footage that documented his visits to her home.

Unreported gifts and excess spending

The report also found travel policy violations involving excessive spending.

In November 2025, for instance, Chavez-DeRemer and two other officials reportedly stayed at hotels in Palm Beach, Florida, to attend an America First Policy Institute gala.

The cost for their lodging approached or exceeded three times the government reimbursement rate, despite there being no documentation showing the required approval for the increased costs.

Investigators further found that Chavez-DeRemer failed to report several gifts to the government, including rodeo tickets, an alligator-hide wallet and cowboy hats given to her and her husband.

Federal government officials are required to report gifts they receive as part of their official duties, to avoid conflicts of interest.

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

Such agents, it suggested, could instead work under the inspector general’s office.

The report also called for independent travel audits, stronger whistleblower protections and annual training for senior leaders.

Since resigning her cabinet post, Chavez-DeRemer has announced she has taken up a senior adviser position at Think Big, a public affairs firm.

According to the company’s website, the former secretary heads a practice dedicated to labour and national infrastructure.