Former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is facing renewed scrutiny after a federal watchdog report detailed an off-the-record visit to an Oregon strip club where she allegedly ordered a government driver to give cash to a partially nude performer.
The incident occurred during a personal trip in April 2025 while Chavez-DeRemer was accompanied by members of her federal protective detail, according to the Labor Department’s Office of Inspector General. The Daily Mail reported that the stop was deliberately left off the official schedule.
Investigators said members of the security team did not realize what type of establishment they were entering until they arrived.
Once inside, Chavez-DeRemer allegedly instructed Brian Sloan, a supervisor on her protective detail, to bring the government driver into the venue from his normal position outside.
According to the watchdog report, Chavez-DeRemer then took money from her purse and handed it to the driver, directing him to give it to one of the performers.
Investigators said she subsequently handed him additional bills and instructed him to drop them individually over the woman’s partially nude body.
The driver reportedly resisted the request twice and looked to Sloan for guidance. Sloan allegedly told him to follow the secretary’s instructions.
The driver eventually complied despite his objections, according to investigators. Sloan then allegedly warned him not to discuss the encounter before the driver reported what happened to his own supervisor the following day.
The Labor Department inspector general concluded that Chavez-DeRemer and Sloan subjected the employee to unwelcome conduct and violated the department’s anti-harassment policies.
The strip club episode was only one component of a broader investigation into Chavez-DeRemer’s tenure at the department.
The Washington Post reported that the watchdog found Chavez-DeRemer oversaw what employees described as a “toxic, intimidating and humiliating” workplace and repeatedly failed to comply with agency standards.
Investigators interviewed 53 current and former Labor Department employees and reviewed hundreds of documents, images and videos as part of the inquiry. Thirty-eight witnesses described the workplace in those terms, according to the source report.
The inspector general also concluded that Chavez-DeRemer maintained an “inappropriately close and unprofessional relationship” with Sloan, who held a supervisory role on her security detail.
Investigators cited encrypted messages, physical familiarity, communications outside normal working hours and hotel records indicating that the two spent portions of multiple nights in one another’s rooms.
Surveillance footage also reportedly showed Sloan leaving Chavez-DeRemer’s Washington apartment building approximately 14 hours after arriving.
The watchdog stopped short, however, of concluding that the relationship was romantic or sexual, saying investigators lacked sufficient direct evidence to establish such a relationship. The Washington Post similarly reported that the inspector general did not substantiate a romantic or sexual affair.
Other findings involved allegations that Chavez-DeRemer improperly used government resources for personal travel and errands, permitted unauthorized alcohol consumption on federal property and failed to properly report gifts, per the Daily Mail.
The Washington Post reported that employees were sometimes assigned personal tasks for the secretary, including organizing clothes and belongings at her home during the workday. Witnesses also told investigators that employees who declined alcohol were sometimes pressured or ridiculed.
Chavez-DeRemer resigned as labor secretary on April 20, one day before she had been scheduled to sit for an interview with investigators.
Trending Politics News reported at the time that Chavez-DeRemer was leaving the Trump administration for the private sector while the inspector general investigation was ongoing.
President Donald Trump originally nominated Chavez-DeRemer, a former Oregon congresswoman, to serve as labor secretary after the 2024 election. Her nomination drew attention because of her ties to organized labor, including support from Teamsters leadership.
Chavez-DeRemer has denied wrongdoing. Her attorney, Nick Oberheiden, told the Washington Post on Friday that the report confirmed his client “did not violate any laws.”
The distinction is significant: the inspector general substantiated violations of department policies and standards, but Chavez-DeRemer’s attorney maintains that the findings do not establish criminal conduct.
The report’s release now provides significantly more detail about the allegations that surrounded Chavez-DeRemer’s departure from the Trump administration earlier this year, including the unusual strip club encounter and the broader workplace complaints documented by investigators.
