Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer exits Trump admin; Keith Sonderling named acting head

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez DeRemer is leaving the Trump administration and will be temporarily replaced by Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling. 

Sonderling, who serves under DeRemer, will become the agency’s acting secretary. Her exit comes after a whistleblower complaint accused the labor secretary of an affair with her security guard, drinking on the job and using staff to fabricate official travel for personal trips at taxpayer expense.

“Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer will be leaving the Administration to take a position in the private sector,” Assistant to the President and White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said on Monday afternoon. “She has done a phenomenal job in her role by protecting American workers, enacting fair labor practices, and helping Americans gain additional skills to improve their lives.”

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The news of Chavez-DeRemer’s exit comes as an inspector general investigates a slew of complaints against her, such as that she created a hostile work environment, used work trips for personal leisure, engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a member of her security team, and that her husband was making unwanted advances toward Labor Department officials. 

Reporting on the complaints indicates Chavez-DeRemer requested staff to perform private errands for her and her husband, like picking up their dry cleaning, getting them wine and cleaning out the Secretary’s closet, while using threats to ensure compliance. Text messages obtained by the Labor Department’s Inspector General also reportedly showed Chavez-DeRemer’s family members routinely sending personal requests and messages to young staff members. Meanwhile, other complaints have alleged drinking on the job and keeping stashes of liquor around the office, according to the New York Post, which first reported the complaints in January. 

“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve in this historic Administration and work for the greatest President of my lifetime. At the Department of Labor, I am proud that we made significant progress in advancing President Trump’s mission to bridge the gap between business and labor and always put the American worker first. We created new pathways to mortgage-paying jobs, prepared workers to excel in the age of AI, took steps to lower prescription drug costs, promoted retirement security, and so much more,” Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement she posted on X after news of her leaving the department broke. 

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“Thinking back to my first job packing peaches in rural California, it taught me the value of hard work – a value that I have carried with me every single day in this job and throughout my time in public service. We live in the best country in the world, and I am incredibly grateful that I had this opportunity to meet workers across the nation, listen to their stories, and deliver wins for them and their families,” she continued, before thanking President Donald Trump. 

“While my time serving in the Administration comes to a conclusion, it doesn’t mean I will stop fighting for American workers. I am looking forward to what the future has in store as I depart for the private sector,” Chavez-DeRemer concluded.

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Chavez-DeRemer becomes the third top-ranking official in the Trump administration to resign in the past few weeks, following former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and former Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The Department of Labor did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the Labor Secretary’s resignation.