Trump's Ex-Labor Secretary Massaged Security Aide's Shoulders as Staff Endured 'Beatdowns' in 'Toxic' Workplace

An internal watchdog investigation has found that former U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer massaged the shoulders of a security agent assigned to protect her, presided over a workplace of three dozen staff described as 'toxic, intimidating and humiliating,' and repeatedly misused government resources during her tenure.

The findings come from a report published on 3 September by the Office of Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Labor. Investigators concluded her conduct violated department policy across six areas, from tolerating harassment to failing to disclose gifts, before she stepped down from the Trump administration in April.

'Beatdown' Meetings and a Culture of Fear

Thirty-eight witnesses interviewed by the OIG described the atmosphere inside Chavez-DeRemer's office in the same terms: toxic, intimidating, and humiliating. Much of that culture, investigators found, was set by her chief of staff, Jihun Han, and deputy chief of staff, Rebecca Wright, who summoned staff into sessions employees came to call 'beatdowns', berating them over perceived failures and, at times, mocking them for crying.

Alcohol compounded the tension. Witnesses said Chavez-DeRemer, Han, and Wright regularly drank in the secretary's office during working hours, and that when staff declined, the three 'pressured them to participate or ridiculed them for abstaining.' Han alone cycled through seven assistants in roughly nine months, with witnesses saying he threatened staff with termination and 'appeared to take satisfaction in doing so.'

The hostility extended to staffing. Wright helped choose which agents guarded Chavez-DeRemer based on her view that some were too old, unfit or overly rule-bound, or, in her own words, 'too MAGA'.

Four agents, including one Black assistant special agent-in-charge and three white agents, were excluded as a result, though the OIG found no evidence that race played a role.

An 'Inappropriately Close' Bond With Her Bodyguard

A separate section of the report examined her relationship with the assistant special agent-in-charge of her protective detail, identified in earlier reporting as Brian Sloan, who resigned in March. Investigators found the two had developed 'an inappropriately close and unprofessional relationship' that compromised her security coverage, though they stopped short of finding it romantic or sexual.

Eight witnesses recalled the pair exchanging unusually frequent text messages during official events, and one described watching Chavez-DeRemer massage Sloan's shoulders during a trip to Michigan. She asked whether he was tired, the witness said, and he replied that he was 'solid as a rock,' after which both laughed.

That familiarity extended off the clock. Hotel key-card records from two Las Vegas trips, and building access footage from her Washington apartment in late February, showed patterns consistent with the pair spending time together outside working hours, including after Sloan had been placed on leave pending the investigation.

A Strip Club Visit, Padded Travel, and Undisclosed Gifts

The report's most striking episode took place during a personal trip to Oregon in April 2025, when Chavez-DeRemer directed a security agent into a venue featuring partially nude dancers, then had him hand cash to a performer at her instruction. The agent complied only after objecting twice and being overruled by Sloan.

Travel vouchers obtained through earlier reporting put the taxpayer cost of the five-day trip at $2,890.06 (£2,168), covering transport, lodging, and meals.

Investigators also documented personal travel billed to the government, including a November 2025 stay at a Palm Beach, Florida hotel charging $529 (£397) a night, above the federally permitted rate.

The OIG further found she had accepted gifts without reporting them through proper ethics channels, including a $200 (£150) alligator-hide wallet from a Louisiana farm and rodeo tickets worth roughly $100 (£75) each from a lobbyist.

A Costly Exit and an Unfinished Department

Chavez-DeRemer, 58, a former one-term Oregon congresswoman confirmed as Labor Secretary in March 2025 with backing from the Teamsters union, resigned on 20 April, saying she was leaving for the private sector. She has not responded to requests for comment on the findings, and her attorney told the New York Post earlier this year that his client 'firmly denies any allegations of wrongdoing.'

Her departure drew divided responses. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said she had 'done a phenomenal job,' while Rosa DeLauro, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said her tenure had been 'plagued with allegations'. House Democrats had pressed the inspector general to release his findings in full.

Han and Wright were terminated on 2 March, and a third aide, the department's director of advance, was dismissed that month for separate travel violations.

Sloan resigned on 13 March. The department is now run by Acting Secretary Keith Sonderling, awaiting Senate confirmation to hold the post permanently.

The inspector general issued five recommendations, including placing the protective operations division under independent OIG authority, introducing recurring travel audits, and adopting a department-wide policy on relationships between supervisors and subordinates, which did not previously exist.