A member of Donald Trump’s Cabinet whose life has been turned upside down by scandal was spotted schmoozing a baseball legend at a White House bash with the president.
Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer is under investigation over allegations of misconduct, fraud and an “alcohol stash” found in her office, while her husband, Dr Shawn DeRemer, has been banned from the department’s headquarters following allegations that he sexually harassed at least one female employee. He denies these claims.
The turmoil at home is worsened by the fact that the high-ranking Trump official has been accused of having a romantic relationship with a bodyguard.
Where many people would keep their heads down, Chavez-DeRemer put on a brave face and rubbed elbows with President Donald Trump and international soccer stars at a cheery White House bash.
The event, centered around 2025 Major League Soccer Cup champions Inter Miami, saw Lionel Messi, considered the best soccer player of all time, make his maiden voyage to the White House.
Messi’s former FC Barcelona colleague, Luis Suarez, was also present. Baseball royalty was in the house, too. Before the event kicked off, the under-fire labor boss was spotted mingling with former Major League Baseball star Alex Rodriguez.
As the Yankees legend was entertaining Attorney General Pam Bondi, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer with a story, Chavez-DeRemer smiled and gazed at the 50-year-old as he spoke, according to a video shared online.
The former shortstop, who was suspended for the entire 2014 season due to his involvement in the Biogenesis scandal, where MLB players were accused of taking performance-enhancing drugs, had a range of affairs when he was married to Cynthia Scurtis, including a reported dalliance with singer Madonna.
ARod’s Yankees megastar factor, coupled with his many A-list exes, made him the stuff of tabloid dreams in the 2000s and early 2010s. The broken hearts he has left behind include actress Kate Hudson, whom he dated publicly during the 2009 baseball season, Cameron Diaz, and Jennifer Lopez, with whom he was engaged for years.
The pair started dating in 2017, got engaged in 2019, and split in April 2021. Their separation was reportedly due to trust issues.
A source told People shortly after they started dating that JLo was being “cautious” because of ARod’s reputation as a “ladies’ man.”
However, the native New Yorker swears that Madonna was just a pal. “We’re friends. That’s it,” he previously told People. However, rumors of an affair were especially rife after Scurtis filed for divorce in July 2008, immediately inflaming tabloid gossip.
“I have nothing to do with the state of his marriage,” Madonna, married to Guy Ritchie, said at the time. The singer and the movie director also divorced in 2008.
“In hindsight, I could have been a better husband. I could have been more present,” a candid Rodriguez admitted on an episode of the HBO show Alex vs ARod, which aired late last year. “I could have been more sympathetic, empathetic, all of it, you name it.”
Meanwhile, Chavez-DeRemer, who also surfaced for Trump’s State of the Union address last month, is facing turmoil at work and at home.
The New York Times reported that formal complaints were filed with the department’s Office of Inspector General alleging her top aides pressured staff to steer departmental grants in ways that would benefit the secretary’s political prospects and boost her standing with donors and consultants.
NBC News also reported that the secretary’s chief of staff and his deputy were accused of “travel fraud,” allegedly arranging professional events to justify personal travel.
The aides—Chief of Staff Jihun Han and Deputy Chief of Staff Rebecca Wright—were placed on leave in January and, according to The New York Post, resigned Monday night after the White House told them to either step down or be removed.
The Post further reported that investigators found evidence of a “toxic” workplace and departmental waste, and that Lori Chavez-DeRemer brought subordinates to a strip club during an official government trip.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt recently said the president “is aware of the internal investigation” at the Labor Department and he “stands by the secretary.”
Chavez-DeRemer’s office has been contacted for comment.
