Two top aides to under-fire Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer are leaving after being told to resign or be fired amid a wide-reaching misconduct investigation.
Chief of staff Jihun Han and deputy Rebecca Wright were given the ultimatum by the White House on Monday, two months after they were placed on leave pending a review by the department’s internal watchdog into Chavez-DeRemer’s office, the New York Post reported.
Chavez-DeRemer, an Oregon Republican, is facing mounting pressure after the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General announced in January that it was reviewing a laundry list of complaints and potential misconduct allegations involving her and the two aides.
The allegations include claims that Chavez-DeRemer drinks on the job in her Washington, D.C., office and had an affair with one of her bodyguards.
Han and Wright are also accused of fabricating official events so Chavez-DeRemer could take taxpayer-funded trips in order to spend time with family or friends and providing “cover” for her alleged misdeeds. Chavez-DeRemer even publicly boasted that she wanted to visit all 50 states during her first year in the Cabinet, though that goal was hindered by the record-breaking government shutdown last year.
Chavez-DeRemer, Han, and Wright have also been accused of creating a hostile work environment, with both aides allegedly bullying staff members.
In January, unnamed sources told the Post that Chavez-DeRemer was the “boss from hell,” claiming she demanded staffers run personal errands for her or perform other menial tasks unrelated to their government jobs.
A complaint filed with the Labor Department’s inspector general alleges that Han and Wright were “involved and have knowledge” of the allegations against Chavez-DeRemer, including the claim that she had an affair with a member of her security detail who is now on leave.
She is also accused of drinking during the workday and allegedly kept a stash of champagne, bourbon, and Kahlúa in her office.
On Monday, The New York Times published a photo contradicting Chavez-DeRemer’s claim that she did not throw herself a birthday party last year, paid for with department funds, at a time when Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was carrying out mass federal budget cuts against the department.
Her staff reportedly renamed the April 7 celebration a swearing-in event, even though she had already been sworn in as Trump’s labor secretary on March 11, 2025. The Times published a photo showing Chavez-DeRemer blowing out candles on a birthday cake at a Labor Department gathering on April 7.
The Daily Beast has contacted the Labor Department for comment.
