Lori Chavez-DeRemer

Lori Chávez-DeRemer
Official portrait, 2025
30th United States Secretary of Labor
In office
March 11, 2025 – April 20, 2026
PresidentDonald Trump
DeputyKeith Sonderling
Preceded byMarty Walsh
Succeeded byKeith Sonderling
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Oregon's 5th district
In office
January 3, 2023 – January 3, 2025
Preceded byKurt Schrader
Succeeded byJanelle Bynum
Mayor of Happy Valley
In office
January 18, 2011 – January 15, 2019
Preceded byRob Wheeler
Succeeded byTom Ellis
Member of the Happy Valley City Council
In office
2005–2011
Personal details
Born
Lori Michelle Chávez

(1968-04-07) April 7, 1968 (age 58)
Santa Clara, California, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Shawn DeRemer
Children2
EducationCalifornia State University, Fresno
WebsiteHouse website

Lori Michelle Chavez-DeRemer (/ˈtʃɑːvɛz dəˈriːmər/; née Chávez; born April 7, 1968) is an American politician who was the 30th United States Secretary of Labor from 2025 to 2026. She was the U.S. Representative for Oregon's 5th congressional district from 2023 to 2025. She is a member of the Republican Party. Chavez-DeRemer was mayor of Happy Valley, Oregon from 2011 to 2019.

She is the first Republican woman to represent Oregon in the House. She is one of the first two Hispanic women elected to the United States Congress from Oregon. Chavez-DeRemer lost her congressional re-election campaign in 2024 to Democrat Janelle Bynum.

In November 2024, President-elect Donald Trump nominated Chavez-DeRemer to be his Secretary of Labor for his second administration. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in March 2025. She resigned as secretary in April 2026.

Personal life

Chavez-DeRemer was born in Santa Clara, California. She was raised in Kings County, California. She graduated with a Bachelor's degree in business administration from California State University, Fresno.

Chavez-DeRemer is married to Shawn DeRemer, a doctor. They have two children.

Chavez-DeRemer is a Roman Catholic.

Local political career

Chavez-DeRemer was elected to the city council of Happy Valley, Oregon, in 2004. She was elected mayor in 2010 and reelected in 2014. She was mayor until 2018.

In 2016, after state representative Shemia Fagan decided not to run for re-election for the Oregon House of Representatives, Chavez-DeRemer ran as a Republican to replace her. She lost by 564 votes to businesswoman Janelle Bynum in the November general election.

Chavez-DeRemer thought about running for Governor of Oregon in 2018 and formed a political action committee. However she decided not to run.

In March 2018, Chavez-DeRemer announced her plan to run again for the state house. She again lost to Bynum, by 2,223 votes.

U.S. House of Representatives

Chavez-DeRemer ran to be the U.S. Representative for Oregon's 5th congressional district in 2022. The district was represented by Democrat Kurt Schrader, however he lost the Democratic primary to progressive Jamie McLeod-Skinner. Chavez-DeRemer beat McLeod-Skinner in the November 8 general election.

Chavez-DeRemer ran for reelection in 2024 against Democratic nominee Janelle Bynum. The race was seen as the most competitive in the U.S. House and raised more than $26 million. Chavez-DeRemer lost the election to Bynum by 9,475 votes.

U.S. Labor Secretary

Nomination

On November 22, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump nominated Chavez-DeRemer to serve as the Secretary of Labor under his second administration.

Chavez-DeRemer in March 2025

Chavez-DeRemer appeared before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on February 19, 2025. When asked by multiple senators about the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which she co-sponsored while serving in Congress, Chavez-Deramer said that she no longer supported parts of the act, such as overturning state right to work laws and did not give a direct answer as to whether she still supported the bill as a whole.

The Senate committee advanced her nomination in a 14–9 vote on February 27, 2025. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a 67–32 vote on March 10.

Tenure

Chavez-DeRemer was sworn in as the 30th United States Secretary of Labor on March 11, 2025.

In December 2025, the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Labor received a complaint that said that Chavez-DeRemer had an affair with another employee and openly drank on the job. It was also reported that Chavez-DeRemer's husband was accused of sexual assaulting government employees.

According to The New York Times, over two dozen current and former employees at the Department of Labor said a toxic workplace caused by Chavez-DeRemer. Her office was searched by the Metropolitan Police Department in February 2026. In April 2026, Politico said that Trump had "expressed frustration and disappointment" with Chavez-DeRemer and was thinking about removing her as the secretary of labor. An investigation showed that she texted aides for personal requests. Chavez-DeRemer also had three separate civil rights complaints from women.

On April 20, 2026, it was announced that Chavez-DeRemer was resigning and that she would work in the private sector.

In September 2026, the Labor Department's inspector general released a 40-page report showing that Chavez-DeRemer's misused money during her time as Labor Secretary. The New York Times reported that the report's findings included that she created a "toxic" workplace environment and had an inappropriate relationship with someone in her security team.

References

  1. ↑ "Incoming Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer". LegiStorm. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  2. ↑ Flaccus, Gillian (November 13, 2022). "GOP's Chavez-DeRemer flips Oregon 5th Congressional District". AP News. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Donald J. Trump has picked Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer as his labor secretary".
  4. 1 2 "Candidate Information: Lori Chavez-DeRemer". Oregon Secretary of State. Archived from the original on November 15, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Lori Chavez-DeRemer". Archives of Women's Political Communication, Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics. Iowa State University of Science and Technology. November 2, 2022. Archived from the original on December 1, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Religious affiliation of members of 118th Congress" (PDF). Pew Research Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Lori Chavez-DeRemer". National Republican Congressional Committee. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  8. ↑ "What's an Open Oregon House Seat Worth? Try Nearly $2 Million". Willamette Week. November 8, 2016. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  9. ↑ Shumway, Julia (October 27, 2022). "Rural Democrat, suburban Republican duke it out in Oregon's 5th Congressional District". Oregon Capital Chronicle. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Oregon's Most Expensive House Race Will End With Narrow Victory for Janelle Bynum". Willamette Week. November 9, 2016. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  11. ↑ Rendleman, Raymond (August 7, 2017). "Mayor Lori Chavez-DeRemer may take on Rep. Knute Buehler". Clackamas Review. Archived from the original on January 4, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  12. ↑ Rendleman, Raymond (October 10, 2017). "Mayor Lori Chavez-DeRemer won't run against Rep. Knute Buehler". ClackamasReview.com. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Happy Valley Mayor Lori Chavez-DeRemer running for House". The Oregon Catalyst. March 7, 2018. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  14. ↑ Miner, Colin (November 8, 2018). "Oregon Elections: Bynum Beats Back Challenge From Chavez-DeRemer". Across America, US Patch. Archived from the original on November 15, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Oregon Elections: Bynum Beats Back Challenge From Chavez-DeRemer". Across America, US Patch. November 8, 2018. Archived from the original on November 15, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  16. ↑ Stringer, Grant (November 11, 2022). "Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer wins Oregon's 5th District seat in Congress, flipping longtime Democratic seat red". The Oregonian/OregonLive. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  17. ↑ Dole, Bryce (November 8, 2024). "Democrat Janelle Bynum flips Oregon's most high-profile US House district". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  18. ↑ Duster, Chandelis; Hernandez, Joe (February 19, 2025). "Trump's labor pick Lori Chavez-DeRemer faces questions on unions, Musk and immigration". NPR. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
  19. ↑ Bussewitz, Cathy (February 19, 2025). "Senators question labor nominee Chavez-DeRemer's allegiance in confirmation hearing". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 27, 2025. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  20. ↑ Hunter, Kathleen; Kight, Stef W. (2025-02-27). "Chavez-DeRemer's labor chief nomination advances with Dem support". Axios. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  21. ↑ Shumway, Emilie (2025-03-11). "Lori Chavez-DeRemer confirmed as labor secretary". Waste Dive. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  22. ↑ O'Brien, Rebecca (January 12, 2026). "Labor Secretary's Aides Placed on Leave in Misconduct Investigation". The New York Times. Retrieved April 6, 2026.
  23. ↑ O'Brien, Rebecca (January 23, 2026). "Labor Secretary's Security Guard Placed on Leave". The New York Times. Retrieved April 6, 2026.
  24. ↑ Gorelick, Evan; O'Brien, Rebecca (February 19, 2026). "Labor Secretary's Husband Barred From the Department After Sexual Assault Reports". The New York Times. Retrieved April 6, 2026.
  25. ↑ Niedzwiadek, Nick (February 20, 2026). "DC police searched Labor Secretary's office in sexual assault investigation". Politico. Retrieved April 6, 2026.
  26. ↑ Burns, Dasha (April 2, 2026). "Trump weighs more Cabinet changes after Bondi ouster". Politico. Retrieved April 6, 2026.
  27. ↑ O'Brien, Rebecca (April 15, 2026). "Labor Dept. Investigates Texts Among Secretary's Family and Staff". The New York Times. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
  28. ↑ O'Brien, Rebecca (April 9, 2026). "Labor Secretary Faces Civil Rights Complaints From Department Staff". The New York Times. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
  29. ↑ Gurley, Lauren; Kornfield, Meryl (April 20, 2026). "Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer will leave administration amid misconduct allegations". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
  30. ↑ Shabad, Rebecca (4 September 2026). "Former labor secretary created 'toxic' atmosphere, drank at work and misused funds, report says". NBC News. Retrieved 4 September 2026.
  31. ↑ O'Brien, Rebecca Davis; DePillis, Lydia (4 September 2026). "Former Labor Secretary Stoked Dysfunction and Toxicity, Department Report Finds". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 September 2026.

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