Overview
- The White House said Monday that Lori Chavez-DeRemer will leave for a private-sector job, and it tapped Deputy Keith Sonderling to run the Labor Department in an acting role.
- The department’s inspector general opened an administrative probe in January into allegations that she misused taxpayer-funded travel, had an improper relationship with a security staffer, and drank during work hours.
- Investigators reviewed personal texts involving Chavez-DeRemer, aides, her husband, and her father that raised concerns about requests to young staffers, and at least three civil-rights complaints alleging a hostile workplace remain active.
- Her husband, Shawn DeRemer, was barred from Labor Department headquarters after staff reported unwanted touching, and police and prosecutors later closed those cases without charges.
- Her exit is the third high-level departure in recent weeks after Kristi Noem and Pam Bondi left the cabinet, and congressional interest in the Labor Department’s internal issues has grown, including records requests from Senate investigators.