Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned Monday, ending a turbulent one-year tenure atop the Department of Labor that was cut short by a widening inspector general investigation into allegations of personal misconduct, misuse of agency resources, and a hostile work environment.

The announcement did not come from President Donald Trump. Instead, White House Assistant Director of Communications Steven Cheung disclosed the departure in a post on X, saying that Chavez-DeRemer would be "leaving the Administration to take a position in the private sector."

"She has done a phenomenal job in her role by protecting American workers, enacting fair labor practices, and helping Americans gain additional skills to improve their lives," Cheung wrote. Deputy Secretary Keith Sonderling, who has been running much of the department's day-to-day operations, was named acting secretary.

Chavez-DeRemer, 58, is the third member of Trump's second-term Cabinet to exit in the past two months, following the firings of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in early March and Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier in April.

The investigation that forced the issue

The Labor Department's inspector general has spent months examining a whistleblower complaint alleging that Chavez-DeRemer misused taxpayer-funded travel for personal trips, drank alcohol on the job, and carried on an extramarital affair with a member of her security detail. The secretary was reportedly scheduled to sit for an interview with investigators in the coming days.

Her attorney, Nick Oberheiden, said in a statement that the resignation was not the result of any formal finding that she had violated the law. "Secretary Chavez-DeRemer did not resign due to findings that she violated the law," he said. "Her decision to leave office was personal."

Reporting over recent weeks has widened the scope of the inquiry well beyond the initial allegations. The New York Times reviewed text messages appearing to show the secretary, her senior aides, and family members repeatedly asking young staff members to bring them bottles of wine during official work trips. In one undated exchange, Chavez-DeRemer reportedly asked a staffer to deliver a bottle of rosé to her hotel room and, when told the hotel was out, asked about "the josh sauvi B," an apparent reference to Josh Cellars sauvignon blanc.

Separately, investigators have looked at allegations that the secretary brought agency staff to a strip club during a taxpayer-funded work trip, and that she and her top deputies directed subordinates to "pay attention" to her husband and father during official travel. Three current or former employees also filed formal civil rights complaints alleging that Chavez-DeRemer fostered a toxic workplace and retaliated against women who reported alleged misconduct by her husband.

Fallout inside the department

The investigation has already consumed much of the Labor Department's senior leadership. Chief of Staff Jihun Han and Deputy Chief of Staff Rebecca Wright were placed on administrative leave in January and resigned in March. Both were accused in the whistleblower complaint of arranging work trips designed to allow the secretary to spend time with friends and family at government expense. A third senior aide, Melissa Robey, was fired in late March after sitting for a four-hour interview with the inspector general's office.

Members of the secretary's security detail have also been affected. At least one detail member is reported to have been placed on leave in connection with the alleged affair.

Chavez-DeRemer's husband, Dr. Shawn DeRemer, an anesthesiologist based in Portland, Oregon, was barred from Labor Department buildings last month after at least two female staffers accused him of touching them inappropriately at the agency's Washington headquarters. DeRemer has categorically denied the allegations, and federal prosecutors and D.C. police closed their inquiries without bringing charges.

In a statement posted to X on Monday evening, Chavez-DeRemer described her time in the administration as "an honor and a privilege" and thanked Trump, calling him "the greatest president of my lifetime." She said she remained "proud that we made significant progress in advancing President Trump's mission to bridge the gap between business and labor and always put the American worker first."

A politically calibrated pick who lost her footing

Chavez-DeRemer was an unconventional choice for the post when Trump named her in late 2024. A one-term Republican congresswoman from Oregon who lost her seat in November 2024, she had been one of the few House Republicans to support the PRO Act, a labor-backed bill that would expand organizing rights and override state right-to-work laws.

Her nomination was confirmed in March 2025 with bipartisan support, and was widely seen as a concession to Teamsters President Sean O'Brien, who had taken a prominent speaking slot at the 2024 Republican National Convention and declined to endorse then-Vice President Kamala Harris. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the AFL-CIO both backed her confirmation, with the AFL-CIO citing her record of supporting "the freedom of workers to organize."

That reservoir of goodwill did not translate into regulatory sympathy for organized labor. Under her leadership, the department moved to repeal or rewrite more than 60 workplace rules, including minimum wage requirements for home health care workers and workers with disabilities, mine safety standards, and lighting requirements at construction sites. The administration also canceled tens of millions of dollars in international grants the department had used to combat child labor and forced labor — funding that, over two decades, had been credited with helping reduce the global number of child laborers by 78 million.

The department has also overseen a dramatic contraction in its own workforce. Roughly 2,000 employees were terminated during Chavez-DeRemer's tenure, and enforcement agencies saw staffing and budget cuts averaging 14 percent.

The department's public image was bruised by unrelated controversies as well. Its social media accounts drew accusations of circulating imagery tied to far-right ideologies, including one post critics said mirrored a slogan used by the Nazi Party. A massive banner bearing Trump's image was hung on the front of the Labor Department's headquarters, matching similar displays at the Justice Department.

A Cabinet in flux

Chavez-DeRemer's exit continues what has become a steady sequence of Cabinet departures. Noem was forced out on March 5 after bipartisan fury over her handling of immigration enforcement operations in U.S. cities and a $220 million public service ad campaign that prominently featured her. Trump replaced her with Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma.

Bondi followed in early April amid ongoing friction with the White House over the Justice Department's handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein and its failure to pursue prosecutions of Trump's political adversaries. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is serving as acting attorney general, and no permanent nominee has been announced.

Five people familiar with internal White House discussions had told Reuters earlier this month that Trump was considering a broader Cabinet reshuffle, driven in part by his frustration with the political fallout from the ongoing war with Iran. Trump was reported to have offered Bondi the labor post on her way out of Justice, an indication of how untenable Chavez-DeRemer's position had become inside the administration weeks before her resignation.

Sonderling, the incoming acting secretary, previously served at the Labor Department during Trump's first term and at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission during the Biden administration. A permanent successor will require Senate confirmation. The White House has not indicated when a nomination will be forthcoming.