Ministre Lori Chavez-DeRemer exits Trump government after scandal wave
Ministre Lori Chavez-DeRemer is leaving Donald Trump’s government for a private-sector job, the White House said in Washington on Monday ET. The move comes after a series of scandals that marked her 13 months in office. Keith Sonderling, the current deputy at the department, will serve as acting head.
White House confirms abrupt departure
White House communications director Steven Cheung said on Monday ET that Lori Chavez-DeRemer “will leave the government to take a position in the private sector. ” He also praised her work protecting American workers, setting fair labor practices, and helping Americans gain additional skills to improve their lives.
Chavez-DeRemer arrived in March 2025 and is now the third woman to leave Trump’s government in six weeks, following the forced departures of Kristi Noem and Pam Bondi. The White House said her exit is tied to the recent scandals that have surrounded her tenure.
Ministre Chavez-DeRemer, a former Oregon lawmaker aged 58, was seen at the time of her nomination as close to unions, at odds with many of the business leaders in Trump’s administration. Her time in office was also marked by the firing and forced departure of thousands of employees at her department, part of a broader purge across federal agencies since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.
Scandals pushed the story forward
The departure gained urgency because of the cluster of allegations surrounding her. One set of claims involved an investigation over an “inappropriate” relationship with a subordinate, plus accusations that she drank alcohol in her office during workdays and fabricated official trips that became leisure travel with family and friends.
The White House previously called those accusations “unfounded” in January through a spokeswoman. Chavez-DeRemer was also the subject of three complaints inside the department from employees who accused her of creating a toxic work environment, adding to the pressure around ministre-level leadership.
Immediate reactions and what it means next
Cheung said she had done a “phenomenal job” for workers, while the department now shifts to interim leadership under Sonderling. The transition comes as the administration manages another senior-level exit under intense scrutiny.
In February, the husband of the ministre, Shawn DeRemer, was also barred from the department after being accused of sexual assault by at least two employees, adding another layer to the turmoil around the office. For now, the White House is presenting the move as a private-sector transition, but the sequence of complaints and scandals ensures ministre remains at the center of the political fallout in the days ahead.
