Lori Chavez-DeRemer was facing multiple scandals and an internal inquiry into charges of misconduct.
Lori Chavez-DeRemer, President Trump’s embattled labor secretary, stepped down on Monday as multiple scandals and investigations closed in on her.
“Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer will be leaving the Administration to take a position in the private sector,” Steven Cheung, a White House spokesman, posted on social media. He said Keith Sonderling, the deputy secretary of labor, would serve as acting secretary.
Pressure on Ms. Chavez-DeRemer had mounted in recent weeks, as investigators and congressional leaders homed in on questions about her conduct in office, and that of her aides and members of her family.
The Labor Department’s inspector general’s office is nearing the end of a monthslong investigation into a whistle-blower’s allegations of professional misconduct by Ms. Chavez-DeRemer and her closest aides. The claims include that she was having an affair with a member of her security team and used department resources for personal trips. Ms. Chavez-DeRemer was expected to be interviewed in the matter in the coming days.
Investigators spoke with several dozen witnesses and uncovered evidence that Ms. Chavez-DeRemer and her staff abused federal spending limits on personal trips, several people familiar with the investigation said, including on fancy hotels, S.U.V. rentals and meals. Four people have left or been forced out of their jobs in connection with the investigation.
Investigators had also reviewed text messages sent to young staff members by Ms. Chavez-DeRemer, her former deputy chief of staff, her husband and her father. The messages, reported last week by The New York Times, suggested that the secretary was drinking during the workday and raised questions about professionalism with her staff.