Lori Chavez-DeRemer the subject of internal Labor Department misconduct complaint: Report
WASHINGTON (KGW-TV) -- U.S. Labor Secretary and former Oregon congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer is the subject of a misconduct complaint along with two of her top staffers, multiple national news outlets reported Monday.
Chavez-DeRemer's chief of staff and deputy chief of staff were named in the complaint, the New York Post was first to report, and have been placed on leave while the Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General investigates.
Citing documents and sources, the Post reported that Chavez-DeRemer was alleged to be pursuing an "inappropriate" relationship with a subordinate, would direct staffers to "make up" official trips for vacations with friends and family, would drink in the office during workdays and have aides run personal errands.
Bloomberg Law reported that a source with direct knowledge of the complaint corroborated the existence of those allegations.
Politico reported earlier on Monday that Jihun Han and Rebecca Wright, Chavez-DeRemer's chief of staff and his deputy, had been sidelined. The New York Times reported that both worked for Chavez-DeRemer when she was in Congress.
Over the past year, the Labor Secretary has been on a mission to visit all 50 states, as part of her "America at Work" listening tour. She visited Oregon in August.
In a statement in response to media inquiries, a spokesperson for the Labor Department inspector general's office said: “It is the policy of the DOL OIG to neither confirm nor deny the existence or nonexistence of any OIG investigation or complaint beyond what is published on our website. DOL OIG remains committed to rooting out fraud, waste, abuse and corruption through objective, independent oversight of the U.S. Department of Labor.”
KGW reached out to the Labor Department for comment, and its spokesperson replied that "It is the policy of the Department of Labor not to comment on personnel matters."
Chavez-DeRemer won election to Oregon's 5th Congressional District seat as a Republican in 2022, after a round of redistricting which reshaped the district but was expected to maintain a slight edge for Democrats.
Though Chavez-DeRemer lost the seat to Janelle Bynum in 2024, she built up a robust base of support among unions, particularly for a Republican. Just weeks after her loss in that election, the outgoing congresswoman was named President Donald Trump's pick for labor secretary.
Given Chavez-DeRemer's relatively good relations with organized labor, her selection was something of a surprise in a party which has not historically reached common ground with unions, and an administration hostile to much of the modern federal bureaucracy.
Though she favored Job Corps while in Congress, Chavez-DeRemer oversaw the dismantling of contractor-run Job Corps centers in Oregon and across the country a few months after her confirmation.
Chavez-DeRemer earned criticism from Oregon politicians in August when, during a fawning Cabinet meeting at the White House, she urged Trump and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to "crack down" on Portland — not long before the administration attempted to deploy National Guard troops in the city and increased the presence of federal law enforcement.
