Lori Chavez-DeRemer has resigned as United States Secretary of Labor, the Trump administration announced on Monday, becoming the third cabinet member to leave the administration during the president's second term. White House spokesperson Steven Cheung confirmed her departure, saying she would "be leaving the Administration to take a position in the private sector" and crediting her with "protecting American workers, enacting fair labor practices, and helping Americans gain additional skills to improve their lives." Keith Sonderling, the current deputy labor secretary, will serve as acting secretary in her place.

Chavez-DeRemer's exit follows a mounting series of investigations and controversies that had overshadowed her tenure. The Department of Labor's inspector general launched an investigation into allegations of professional misconduct, including claims that she had an affair with a member of her security detail, consumed alcohol on the job, and used government resources for personal travel. Her aides were also accused of steering grants toward politically connected figures. Separately, her husband, Shawn DeRemer, an anesthesiologist, was barred from the department's Washington headquarters after at least two female staff members alleged he had touched them inappropriately inside the building. His lawyer denied the allegations, characterizing them as part of a campaign to force his wife from office; police and prosecutors declined to press charges. Three senior women at the department had also filed civil rights complaints against Chavez-DeRemer, and more than two dozen current and former employees described to the New York Times a "toxic workplace characterized by an absentee secretary, hostile aides and a deeply demoralized staff."

Chavez-DeRemer, a former Republican congresswoman from Oregon, is the daughter of a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, one of the United States' largest labor unions. Her nomination drew relatively broad support: the Senate confirmed her 67–32 in March 2025, with more than a dozen Democrats crossing party lines to back her, in part because of her ties to organized labor. She had lost her 2024 congressional reelection bid after a single term. Her two predecessors in the cabinet exits, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi, were also pushed out in recent weeks.

The resignation is significant because Chavez-DeRemer had been seen as a bridge between the Trump administration and the labor movement, offering unions some reassurance at a moment of uncertainty over workers' rights policy. Her troubled departure leaves that relationship without its most prominent symbol, and places the department under acting leadership at a time when major labor and workforce development policies remain in flux.