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Cabinet Resignation · Labor Department · Regulatory Policy · Workplace Standards
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned from President Donald Trump's Cabinet on April 20, 2026, following multiple allegations of abuse of power, including an affair with a subordinate and drinking on the job, making her the third Cabinet member to depart.
White House communications director Steven Cheung announced Chavez-DeRemer's departure, stating she will take a private sector position and praising her work, a departure from the President's usual social media announcements for other Cabinet exits. Her resignation follows reports since January of investigations by the Labor Department's inspector general, which included allegations of personal messages and requests sent to young staff by Chavez-DeRemer and her family, as reported by The New York Times and New York Post.
Chavez-DeRemer denied the allegations, attributing them to "deep state actors." At least four Labor Department officials, including her former chief of staff and deputy chief of staff, were forced from their jobs as the investigation progressed. Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) supported her resignation.
Chavez-DeRemer, confirmed in March 2025, was a former House GOP lawmaker with unusual union support, but her tenure also saw the administration cancel millions in international grants to combat child labor and repeal over 60 workplace regulations, drawing condemnation from labor leaders.
