Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is resigning from the Trump administration, the White House said Monday.
Chavez-DeRemer, 58, will “take a position in the private sector,” White House communications director Steven Cheung said in an X post.
Deputy Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling will take over the department in an acting capacity, Cheung wrote.
Chavez-DeRemer was reportedly embroiled in an investigation by the Labor Department’s inspector general into allegations of professional misconduct, including that she used agency resources for personal trips and was engaged in an affair with a member of her security team.
Chavez-DeRemer was expected to be interviewed as part of that internal probe in the coming days, a source familiar with the matter told MS NOW on Monday.
“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,” Cheung wrote in his X post.
Chavez-deRemer’s lawyer Nick Oberheiden said in a statement to MS NOW, “Secretary Chavez-DeRemer did not resign due to findings that she violated the law. Her decision to leave office was personal.”
In a statement posted on social media, Chavez-DeRemer thanked President Donald Trump, saying, “It has been an honor and a privilege to serve in this historic Administration and work for the greatest President of my lifetime.”
She expressed gratitude for the opportunity “to meet workers across the nation, listen to their stories, and deliver wins for them and their families.”
“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,” she wrote.
Sonderling, in an X post, also thanked Trump “for the opportunity to serve as Acting Secretary of Labor. We will keep up the fight to put American workers first.”
The announcement adds to the short but growing list of top officials to either resign or be removed from Trump’s second Cabinet.
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer speaks during a news conference in the U.S. Capitol on the government shutdown on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.
Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
Kristi Noem, who led the Department of Homeland Security, was ousted by Trump on March 5, ending a tumultuous tenure highlighted by national controversies over immigration enforcement in U.S. cities.
Less than a month later, Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi, putting Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in charge. The move came amid reports that the president was increasingly unhappy with how the Department of Justice under Bondi was handling matters related to notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Workers hang a large photo of US President Donald Trump next to a US flag on the facade of the Department of Labor headquarters building in Washington, DC, on Aug. 27, 2025.
Drew Angerer | AFP | Getty Images
The Labor Department under Chavez DeRemer’s leadership was a source of controversy for other reasons, as well.
The department’s social media accounts drew heated accusations of spreading rhetoric and imagery linked to extreme right-wing ideologies, including one post that seemed to echo a slogan used by the Nazi Party.
Labor’s headquarters in Washington was also one of multiple federal buildings, along with the the Justice Department, to be decorated with a massive banner of Trump’s face, drawing criticism.
Chavez-DeRemer’s husband, Dr. Shawn DeRemer, also faced scrutiny after MS NOW and other outlets reported that at least two female staffers alleged they were sexually assaulted by him at the Labor Department building.
DeRemer was reportedly barred from the building but did not face criminal charges.