When Donald Trump and his team were assembling their second-term Cabinet, former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer appeared to be one of their least controversial choices. The Oregon Republican, tapped to lead the Department of Labor, was ultimately confirmed with 67 votes, including more than a dozen Senate Democrats, which, in this Congress, reflected fairly broad support.
Nearly a year later, however, the secretary’s troubles are serious — and multiplying.
A month ago, for example, The New York Times reported that a member of Chavez-DeRemer’s security detail, with whom she has been accused of having a romantic relationship, was placed on administrative leave during a misconduct investigation. The Times added, “The Labor Department inspector general’s office has interviewed staff in connection with the investigation, which followed a complaint that Ms. Chavez-DeRemer was having an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate and abusing her office.” The secretary’s lawyer issued a statement that read in part, “Secretary Chavez-DeRemer cannot comment publicly beyond a general denial.”
Meanwhile, the department’s inspector general’s office also received other complaints that accused top aides to the secretary of “pressuring staff to direct the awarding of department grants to benefit the secretary’s political career and elevate her standing with donors and consultants,” according to the Times.
Around the same time, NBC News reported that Chavez-Remer’s chief of staff and his deputy allegedly engaged in “travel fraud” by “setting up professional events for their boss as an excuse for personal travel.” (A department spokesperson would “neither confirm nor deny the existence or nonexistence of any O.I.G. investigation or complaint” in a response to NBC News.)
In case that weren’t quite enough, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the secretary’s husband is under investigation for an alleged sexual assault that took place at the Labor Department’s headquarters in December, according to Washington, D.C., police. From the article:
The incident was reported to Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department last month, according to a police report reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. […]
The police report was filed by a Labor Department employee who said the secretary’s husband, Shawn DeRemer, groped her. An active investigation is under way, according to the police department. The report notes that ‘the complainant reported a sexual contact against her will.’
Though MS NOW hasn’t independently confirmed the reporting, Politico and the Times published similar reports reviewing the same police report. In fact, the Times, citing multiple “people familiar with the decision,” added that the Labor Department has barred the secretary’s husband from entering the building.
DeRemer, the department and Chavez-DeRemer’s lawyers all chose not to respond to requests for comment.
The secretary was already facing some calls for her resignation. The latest allegations almost certainly will make her political standing even shakier.
