A security officer assigned to U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, once a U.S. House representative for Oregon, was placed on leave amid an investigation into an alleged romantic relationship between them, Bloomberg Law reported Friday.
The news outlet, citing two anonymous sources, wrote that the security officer was put on administrative leave Jan. 16 amid a probe by the agency’s inspector general into allegations that the married cabinet member had an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate. The complaint also alleged that she spent taxpayer money on personal travel and kept alcohol in her office, where she drank during the workday.
The complaint accused DeRemer of traveling to the Red Rocks Casino Resort and Spa in Las Vegas in October, along with a staffer with whom she was having an inappropriate relationship, Bloomberg wrote.
Two of DeRemer’s top aides were suspended over the investigation. It’s unclear if the security officer was named in the complaint that sparked the probe, Bloomberg wrote.
The White House has denied the allegations against Chavez-DeRemer, calling them baseless.
DeRemer, a longtime Republican who vocally supported President Donald Trump’s attempted troop deployment in Portland, served as mayor of Happy Valley from 2011 to 2019.
Trump appointed her to his cabinet in 2025 after she lost her first reelection campaign for her U.S. House seat.
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