Former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer violated department policy, probe finds

Sep 4, 2026

A scathing Department of Labor inspector general report reveals that former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer presided over a toxic workplace, violated travel policies, and misused federal staff for personal chores. The investigation details an incident where Chavez-DeRemer pressured a security agent to drop cash on a strip club dancer, and outlines an inappropriately close relationship with her bodyguard, Brian Sloan. Chavez-DeRemer resigned in April 2026, just before her scheduled interview with investigators.

Chavez-DeRemer misconduct findings

▪Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned as Labor Secretary on April 20, 2026, one day before the Office of the Inspector General was scheduled to interview her
▪An investigation by the Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General found that former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer violated department policies regarding travel, alcohol consumption, staff utilization, and gift reporting

Toxic workplace culture

▪The Labor Department's deputy chief of staff made derogatory comments about employee appearances, relocated a desk to keep an overweight employee out of sight, and warned an employee against short haircuts to avoid becoming a lesbian
▪The Office of Inspector General's 44-page report was based on interviews with 53 current and former Department of Labor employees who described a toxic, intimidating, and humiliating workplace
▪Former Labor Department chief of staff Jihun Han and deputy chief of staff Rebecca Wright were terminated after routinely engaging in threatening, demeaning, and abusive communication
▪Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Jihun Han, and Rebecca Wright regularly consumed alcohol during work hours and pressured or ridiculed subordinates who declined to participate

Strip club incident

▪The security driver complied with Lori Chavez-DeRemer's strip club directive against his wishes after his supervisor, the assistant special agent in charge, instructed him to obey her
▪During an April 2025 trip to Oregon, Lori Chavez-DeRemer directed a security detail driver to enter a strip club and drop cash bills one by one onto a partially nude dancer

Inappropriate relationship with bodyguard

▪Security supervisor Brian Sloan frequently repositioned other security agents to be alone with Lori Chavez-DeRemer and resigned after the inspector general investigation commenced
▪The Office of Inspector General concluded Lori Chavez-DeRemer maintained an inappropriately close and unprofessional relationship with security supervisor Brian Sloan, though evidence was insufficient to establish a romantic or sexual relationship

Personal use of staff

▪Lori Chavez-DeRemer directed federal employees to perform personal tasks during work hours, including hanging her laundry, organizing her shoes, and retrieving personal packages
▪Lori Chavez-DeRemer used a Hispanic federal employee to translate interactions with Spanish-speaking moving crews at her personal residence

Policy violations

▪Lori Chavez-DeRemer repeatedly combined personal and official travel, including taking five trips to Las Vegas and adding official stops to justify taxpayer-funded travel to her home state of Oregon
▪Lori Chavez-DeRemer's lodging expenses for an America First Policy Institute gala in Palm Beach, Florida, exceeded the federal actual expense reimbursement rate by approximately 300%
▪Lori Chavez-DeRemer failed to properly report expensive gifts, including tickets to a Las Vegas rodeo from a lobbyist, an alligator-hide wallet, and two cowboy hats

Debatable claims

▪Federal officials should not choose their own security agents
▪Misusing federal employees for personal tasks should carry criminal penalties
▪Inspectors general should investigate officials who have already resigned
▪Federal regulations should strictly ban officials from combining official and personal travel