From NY Post: Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s top aides were placed on administrative leave amid an internal investigation into their involvement in the alleged fraudulent use of official travel for personal trips.
Department of Labor (DOL) Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito placed the secretary’s chief of staff Jihun Han and deputy chief of staff Rebecca Wright on leave, according to sources, following The Post’s bombshell report exposing the probe.
Sources noted that both Han and Wright were removed because of the power they wielded over junior staff amid the investigation. Politico first reported on the move.
In December, a complaint was filed with the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General accusing 57-year-old Chavez-DeRemer of committing “travel fraud.” The complaint alleges that Chavez-DeRemer instructed her two aides to fabricate official trips to locations where she could spend personal time or visit with family and friends.
The favored destinations included Oregon, her birthplace and the state where she first ran for Congress in 2022; Arizona, where she and her husband reside; Michigan, where her daughter resides; and Las Vegas, which she visited at least four times in 2025, according to the complaint and travel schedules.
Of her over 50 official trips outside Washington, D.C. as Labor Secretary in 2025, at least 10 were to one of these locations, as per travel schedules.
The complaint also accuses Chavez-DeRemer of “abusing her position” by pursuing an “inappropriate” relationship with a subordinate who was welcomed into her Washington, D.C. apartment and hotel room during trips last year.
The subordinate, sidelined since the investigation began, declined to comment and stated he had lawyers.
Read more at NY Post
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