Lori Chavez-DeRemer has resigned as US Secretary of Labour following a mounting series of misconduct allegations, becoming the third high-profile cabinet departure in the Trump administration since March. The White House announced the news late on Monday, with Communications Director Steven Cheung stating that Chavez-DeRemer would be leaving "to take a position in the private sector" and praising her as having done a "phenomenal job." Keith Sonderling, the deputy labour secretary, will assume the role in an acting capacity.

The resignation follows weeks of intensifying scrutiny. Investigations launched as early as January included allegations that Chavez-DeRemer had pursued an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate — reportedly a member of her security detail — and had consumed alcohol during working hours. A New York Times report last week revealed that the Labour Department's inspector general was reviewing evidence that the secretary's husband and father had exchanged text messages with young female staff members, and that some staffers had been instructed to "pay attention" to her family. At least four department officials have already lost their positions in connection with the probe, including her former chief of staff and deputy chief of staff. The White House and Labour Department initially dismissed the reports as baseless, though denials became less forceful as additional allegations emerged.

In her own statement, Chavez-DeRemer pushed back against the reporting, attributing the allegations to "high-ranked deep state actors" coordinating with what she described as a one-sided media. She expressed pride in her record, citing efforts to advance the Trump administration's deregulatory agenda. Under her tenure, the Labour Department moved to rewrite or repeal more than 60 workplace regulations deemed obsolete, including minimum wage protections for home health care workers and rules governing exposure to hazardous substances in mines — changes that drew sharp criticism from union leaders and safety advocates. The department also stalled on addressing silica exposure limits for coal miners suffering from black lung disease in Appalachia.

Chavez-DeRemer was in some ways an unusual Trump pick. A former Republican congresswoman, she had previously voiced support for the pro-union PRO Act and won backing from Teamsters union president Sean O'Brien, who had spoken at the Republican National Convention. Her nomination drew rare bipartisan support. Over time, however, her policies aligned closely with the administration's broader anti-regulatory direction.

Her departure follows Trump's dismissal of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in March and Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier this month, continuing a significant churn at the top of the administration. The exit was notably announced not by Trump himself — as has been the pattern with other departures — but through a post by a White House aide, a detail that observers in Washington have noted as unusual.