Dirty laundry

If you think you've had a rough week, be glad you're not Lori Chavez-DeRemer, the one-term Oregon Congresswoman who's now the outspoken Labor Secretary in Caligula's "cabinet." A week ago, the New York Post got hold of a complaint that's been filed against her with the Labor Department's inspector general. According to the Post's retelling of the complaint, LCD has been accused of using taxpayer funds for personal travel, day drinking in her office, and getting it on with a subordinate.

Both she and the White House are denying it all, but while an investigation is conducted, her chief of staff and his deputy, both of whom are originally from down around Chavez-DeRemer's home in Happy Valley, have been put on leave. The chief is Jihun Han, and the deputy is Rebecca Wright. The complaint reportedly says they knew what the boss was up to, and helped her with some of it.

Another employee, who is the alleged "affair partner," has been identified and contacted by the Post. He says he's lawyered up, and refuses to say anything more. So far as I can tell, Ms. Lori hasn't faced the music directly since the scandal broke.

If you like salacious details, the original Post story, here, is a must-read. Those folks could put the sleazy tabloid sheen on anything, but this one kind of writes itself.

Chavez-DeRemer, 57, has welcomed her alleged paramour at least three times to her DC apartment and twice into her hotel room while traveling, alleges a complaint filed with the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Inspector General last week, which has since begun a probe....

Two purported meet-ups between Chavez-DeRemer and her alleged affair partner took place in September, after the mom-of-two told her security detail that protection wasn’t needed, according to the IG complaint.

A third alleged visit occurred at the same DC apartment in October, when the man waited until the agents protecting the secretary went home before driving over, the complaint noted....

The complaint said that additional video footage from the hotel shows the pair engaging in unprofessional behavior on at least two trips to Vegas in 2025. The Post has not seen the alleged footage....  

The former Oregon congresswoman is also accused of drinking in her office during the workday and committing “travel fraud” by having her chief of staff and deputy chief of staff “make up” official trips to destinations where Chavez-DeRemer can spend time with family or friends on the taxpayers’ dime....

The complaint also described Chavez-DeRemer drinking in her office — with references to “a stash” of champagne, bourbon and Kahlua that she keeps there....

While on official travel, Chavez-DeRemer will speak for 30 minutes to an hour and then does “personal stuff” and “goes out drinking at night” on the government’s dime, according to the complaint.

Think she'll survive this, politically? In these extraordinary times, anything's possible. The unions like her, or at least they did a year ago, and there probably aren't a whole lot of other Republicans they can stand. But I have never understood why this White House would care what the unions think, anyway. I would place Chavez-DeRemer's future at this point as a coin flip.

When she took the cabinet gig, I predicted it would end badly for her. That's certainly looking like a distinct possibility now.

In any event, like I've also been saying, if it matters to Oregonians, it's in the New York Post. And no paywall, either.