A new investigation revealed that the Trump administration’s Secretary of Labor used an official business trip to take her subordinates out to a strip club.
Lori Chavez-DeRemer, 57, allegedly took her staff to the Angels PDX club outside Portland during an Oregon visit to meet with Democratic Governor Tina Kotek, the New York Post revealed.
Highlights
- Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer reportedly took staff to a strip club during an official Oregon trip, costing taxpayers nearly $3,000.
- Chavez-DeRemer allegedly kept a stash of alcohol, including champagne and bourbon, at her DC office amid an ongoing investigation.
- She faces probes for pursuing a relationship with a subordinate, travel fraud, drinking on the job, and assigning fake business trips.
She also apparently kept a stash of booze tucked away at her DC office.
A new investigation revealed the Labor Secretary took staffers to a strip club during a work trip
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Travel vouchers obtained by the New York Post added the total cost of the Oregon trip to almost $3,000 in taxpayer money. The amount can be broken down as $1,324.21 on transport, $722 on lodging, $655 on meals, and $188.35 on “miscellaneous expenses.”
The investigation comes as Chavez-DeRemer, who is married, is already facing an internal probe over complaints that she has been “abusing her position” by pursuing a relationship with a subordinate.
The two also allegedly took a trip to the Red Rocks Casino Resort and Spa in Las Vegas in late October while the federal government was under a shutdown, furloughing pay for many federal workers, photos and videos obtained by the New York Post show.
The complaint also notes her drinking on the job and assigning staffers to come up with fake departmental business trips so that she could visit family and friends.
Champagne, bourbon, and Kahlua were among the alcohol stashed in her office.
At least a dozen interviews with government officials have already taken place, and include probing into Chavez-DeRemer’s chief of staff, Jihun Han, and his deputy, Rebecca Wright. This follows the complaint's allegation that the pair also knew of the alleged wrongdoing. Han, Wright, and a third anonymous staffer are on leave.
Chavez-DeRemer had already been under controversy after she threw a birthday party for herself at the Department of Labor’s headquarters last April, around the same time her department and others were facing massive cuts under President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE cuts.
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The party was perceived to be tone-deaf by staffers.
“Secretary Chavez-DeRemer firmly denies any allegations of wrongdoing. Her utmost priority remains to advance President Trump’s agenda by continuing her hard and successful work for the betterment of the American people,” Chavez DeRemer’s attorney, Dr. Nick Oberheiden, told the New York.
A White House spokesperson had also stood by the labor secretary in a previous comment, saying, “The New York Post was unable to provide any evidence to corroborate these baseless claims in this ‘report’ supposedly filed by a FORMER disgruntled employee. Secretary Chavez-DeRemer is an incredible asset to President Trump’s team and she will continue advancing the President’s America First agenda.”