Labor Department report alleges Trump's ex-labor secretary drank on job, misused staff time, created hostile workplace (September 4, 2026)

A 38-page Department of Labor Office of Inspector General report released September 4, 2026, documents allegations that former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer drank alcohol during working hours on federal property, directed employees to perform personal tasks at her residence, misused agency funds, and presided over a toxic work environment. The investigation drew from 500 documents and interviews with 53 current and former Labor Department employees and one employee from another federal agency, per Al Jazeera's reporting. Thirty-eight witnesses provided testimony after an anonymous complaint was filed with the office; the investigation began in January 2026. Chavez-DeRemer, a former Republican Congress member from Oregon, was sworn in on March 11, 2025, and resigned in April 2026, per Al Jazeera's reporting. She was the third cabinet secretary to leave the second administration of President Donald Trump, following departures by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi. The report alleged Chavez-DeRemer and her aides "regularly drank alcohol in Chavez-DeRemer's study during official duty hours," with employees who abstained being ridiculed, per the Guardian's reporting. Department of Labor policy requires advance written authorization for alcohol on federal property; investigators found no record that the required approval had been obtained, per Al Jazeera. During personal travel to Oregon, Chavez-DeRemer "requested an off-the-record stop at an establishment that was determined upon entry to feature partially nude dancers" and "took additional money from her purse and asked the agent to drop the bills one by one onto the partially nude woman," per the Guardian's account. A limousine driver objected to the requests, but a senior agent reportedly instructed him to comply, per Al Jazeera's reporting. Thirty-eight of the interviewees described the secretary's office as a "toxic, intimidating and humiliating" workplace, per Al Jazeera. A personal aide and executive assistant were reportedly sent to her residence to organize her closet, hang laundry, and arrange her clothing and purses during official time, per Al Jazeera. Employees were tasked with buying personal items, including gifts, picture frames, holiday decorations, and alcohol. Chief of staff Jihun Han and deputy chief of staff Rebecca Wright left the agency in March 2026 amid the investigation, per the Guardian. Chavez-DeRemer's staffers held "beatdowns" where aides "berated employees for perceived performance deficiencies," per the Guardian. The report alleged Chavez-DeRemer "engaged in an inappropriate relationship" with a bodyguard, per the Guardian. Investigators obtained electronic hotel door lock records suggesting Chavez-DeRemer and the senior agent spent time overnight in each other's rooms and reviewed video footage documenting his visits to her home, per Al Jazeera's reporting. The report did not find "sufficient" evidence to conclude the relationship was sexual, per Al Jazeera. Witnesses reported seeing Chavez-DeRemer massaging the agent's shoulder, golfing and gambling with him, and leaving an event walking arm-in-arm, per Al Jazeera. The agent occasionally reduced the number of officers covering Chavez-DeRemer or assumed sole responsibility for her protection, per Al Jazeera's reporting. The report alleged Chavez-DeRemer used agency funds for personal travel, citing interviews identifying "at least thirteen trips to destinations where Chavez-DeRemer visited family or her other personal residences and five trips to Las Vegas, Nevada," per the Guardian. Chavez-DeRemer's lodging exceeded allowed reimbursement rates, including three nights at a "luxury hotel and spa" in Palm Beach, Florida, per the Guardian. In November 2025, Chavez-DeRemer and two other officials stayed at hotels in Palm Beach to attend an America First Policy Institute gala; the cost for their lodging approached or exceeded three times the government reimbursement rate, despite no documentation showing required approval for the increased costs, per Al Jazeera. Chavez-DeRemer failed to report several gifts to the government, including rodeo tickets, an alligator-hide wallet, and cowboy hats given to her and her husband, per Al Jazeera. Witnesses reported that Wright's aides openly investigated 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, per the Guardian. Melissa Robey, a high-level staff member, claimed in media reports that she was fired under pressure from the White House after sitting down with the inspector general's office, per Al Jazeera's reporting. Chavez-DeRemer's attorney, Nick Oberheiden, stated per the Guardian: "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 per the Guardian: "The Department respects the integrity of the Inspector General's investigation and refer you to their office on all matters related to the report."