Trump’s ex-labor secretary drank on job and created ‘toxic’ work environment, report alleges

Michael Sainato Sat, September 5, 2026 at 3:51 PM UTC

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Lori Chavez-DeRemer, then the US labor secretary, speaks at a press conference in Washington DC on 4 November 2025.Photograph: Annabelle Gordon/ReutersLabor department report alleges Lori Chavez-DeRemer also made a staffer attend a strip club while on a personal trip

Donald Trump’s former secretary of labor, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, drank during working hours, kept alcohol on federal property and made a staffer attend a strip club while on a personal trip, according to a newreport by the Department of Labor’s office of inspector general .

Chavez-DeRemer was appointed by Trump to serve as labor secretary in January 2025 and resigned in April 2026 amid the misconduct allegations.

The 38-page report contains striking allegations that Chavez-DeRemer “engaged in an inappropriate relationship” with a bodyguard, accepted gifts without properly reporting them under ethics rules and directed employees to perform personal tasks for her, including going to her home to organize her bedroom closet during work hours.

The report also said she contributed to a “toxic, intimidating and humiliating” work environment.

Thirty-eight witnesses provided testimony for the report, which stemmed from an anonymous complaint filed with the office, prompting an investigation that began in January 2026. Collectively, they alleged that Chavez-DeRemer created a “hostile work environment” during her relatively brief tenure as labor secretary.

Chavez-DeRemer’s attorney, Nick Oberheiden, said in an emailed statement in response to the report: “Secretary Chavez-DeRemer is not surprised about the report: the report is untimely, moot, built around undisclosed individuals, and concludes what Ms Chavez-DeRemer always knew, namely that she did not break any laws.”

The US Department of Labor said in a statement on the report and its findings: “The department respects the integrity of the inspector general’s investigation and refers you to their office on all matters related to the report.”

The report accused Chavez-DeRemer, who previously served as a member of Congress, of using agency funds for personal travel, citing interviews with witnesses who identified “at least thirteen trips to destinations where Chavez-DeRemer visited family or her other personal residences and five trips to Las Vegas, Nevada”. Chavez-DeRemer’s lodging exceeded allowed reimbursement rates, including three nights at a “luxury hotel and spa” in Palm Beach, Florida, it stated.

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The report also alleged Chavez-DeRemer and her aides “regularly drank alcohol in Chavez-DeRemer’s study during official duty hours” and employees who abstained were ridiculed for doing so.

During personal travel to Oregon last year, Chavez-DeRemer “requested an off-the-record stop at an establishment that was determined upon entry to feature partially nude dancers”, the report alleged.

“Chavez-DeRemer then took additional money from her purse and asked the agent to drop the bills one by one onto the partially nude woman,” it stated. “The agent again hesitated and sought intervention from ASAIC 1, who told him to follow Chavez-DeRemer’s instructions. The agent complied against his wishes.”

The report also alleged Chavez-DeRemer’s staffers contributed to a hostile work environment, which included holding “beatdowns” where her aides “berated employees for perceived performance deficiencies”.

Two of her top aides, Department of Labor chief of staff Jihun Han and deputy chief of staff Rebecca Wright, left the agency in March 2026 amid the investigation into their misconduct.

The report alleged Wright “reportedly evaluated applicants in part by appearance and weight, including Wright relocating an employee’s desk because she did not want a ‘fat person’ visible in the front office and making derogatory comments regarding another employee’s appearance and hygiene”.

Witnesses in the report also accused Wright’s aides of openly investigating employees to try to find out who had provided information to the media and had advised the firing of three employees they suspected of doing so.

“Witnesses further stated that Wright advised an employee not to cut her hair above her shoulders to avoid ‘turning into a lesbian’,” it stated. “During a conversation with an employee and Chavez-DeRemer, Wright discouraged this employee from using the [Department of Labor] daycare center based on the race of the daycare staff differing from that of the employee’s children. Chavez-DeRemer did not address Wright’s comments or acknowledge that they were inappropriate.”

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Source: “AOL Breaking”