For the third time this year, a Trump Administration cabinet member has departed. And once again, the departing secretary is a woman.
CNN reported Monday that Lori Chavez-DeRemer is out as the Secretary of Labor.
“Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer will be leaving the Administration to take a position in the private sector. She has done a phenomenal job in her role by protecting American workers, enacting fair labor practices, and helping Americans gain additional skills to improve their lives,” White House communications director Steven Cheung announced on X, as her departure appears not to have merited an announcement from the president himself, after Trump announced the two previous cabinet defenestrations.
The Independent went with a less sympathetic headline: “Trump’s scandal-ridden Labor Secretary resigns after reports of drinking and misconduct.”
BREAKING: Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is stepping down from her Cabinet post amid a series of misconduct allegations against her and her top staffers.https://t.co/x0hYPnkdLO
— POLITICO (@politico) April 20, 2026
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“Inquiries into complaints about her leadership — alleging abuses of her position’s power, having an affair with a subordinate, and drinking alcohol on the job — have also forced out at least four other officials within the nation’s labor agency, including her former chief of staff and deputy chief of staff, among others,” the Independent story said.
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigns from Trump admin after misconduct investigation first exposed by The Post https://t.co/2MkYyeOUKE pic.twitter.com/oKYAY1sgxy
— New York Post (@nypost) April 20, 2026
“Her departure follows a formal complaint with the Department of Labor’s office of inspector general accusing her of abusing her title, stashing alcohol in her office, and engaging in an extramarital affair with a member of her security detail — a series of blockbuster revelations that trickled out in recent weeks while the now-former secretary faced growing bipartisan scrutiny into her behavior,” the story said.
Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s resignation follows those of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi. And it raises questions as to whether there’s a gender double standard when it comes to whether scandals can end careers in the Trump cabinet. After all, numerous male cabinet secretaries, from Pete Hegseth to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have had numerous scandals and kept their jobs.
Keith Sonderling has been named acting secretary of Labor.
Photo courtesy of the official portrait of the Department of Labor.
