Brian Sloan, the personal security guard for Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, resigned last week after being placed on leave while the Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General investigates allegations he carried on an "inappropriate" relationship with the married Cabinet secretary, the New York Post reported.
Sloan's departure makes him the third person in Chavez-DeRemer's inner circle to leave in recent weeks. Her chief of staff, Jihun Han, and her deputy, Rebecca Wright, both resigned earlier this month under pressure from the White House. A fourth staffer, Director of Advance Melissa Robey, has been sidelined.
The cascade of exits points to a Department of Labor front office in serious disarray, and a White House that has been forced to act as the inspector general's probe gathers steam. For an administration that promised to clean up government waste and hold agencies accountable, the mess inside Chavez-DeRemer's shop is an unwelcome distraction.
The Post first revealed the allegations in January. Sources and a complaint filed with the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General accused Chavez-DeRemer of abusing "her position" by pursuing the workplace romance with Sloan, a subordinate. The complaint also alleged that the secretary engaged in unprofessional interactions with her alleged paramour during trips to Las Vegas last year.
That initial IG complaint went further than the relationship. It accused Han and Wright of helping "make up" official trips to destinations Chavez-DeRemer visited for personal reasons, including Oregon, Arizona, and Las Vegas. Arizona is where the ex-Oregon congresswoman keeps a second home with her anesthesiologist husband.
If the accusation is accurate, taxpayer-funded travel was manufactured to cover personal jaunts. That is exactly the kind of government abuse that corrodes public trust.
As the IG investigation expanded, the White House moved. Newsmax reported that Han and Wright were given a blunt choice: resign or be fired. Investigators had reportedly found evidence that the two aides verbally abused staff and arranged official trips that may have doubled as personal travel for the secretary. Additional complaints submitted during the investigation accused them of exerting improper influence over junior staff.
The forced resignations fit a pattern of internal White House shakeups that have marked personnel turbulence across the administration. When aides become liabilities, the building moves fast.
Sen. Chuck Grassley weighed in on the broader allegations, writing that they, "if true, represent a serious breach of the public's trust." Grassley, a longtime watchdog on government spending, rarely fires blanks. His statement signals that Capitol Hill is watching.
The spending allegations are not limited to fabricated trip justifications. A person familiar with the probe told the Post that Robey, Chavez-DeRemer's Director of Advance, expensed a multi-thousand-dollar limousine ride during a departmental excursion to North Dakota. Robey also reportedly turned in vouchers for excessive travel-related expenditures on other vehicles and hotel stays.
Limousines in North Dakota. That detail alone tells you something about the culture inside this office.
Investigators have also heard that Chavez-DeRemer took subordinates to an Oregon strip club during an official departmental visit in April 2025. The Post's sources did not specify the club or the exact circumstances, but the allegation adds another layer to a picture of a front office operating well outside professional norms.
Despite the growing pile of allegations, the White House publicly backed Chavez-DeRemer as recently as January 15. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump:
"thinks that she's doing a tremendous job at the Department of Labor on behalf of American workers."
That statement came before the forced resignations of Han and Wright and before Sloan's departure. The White House's willingness to push out three of the secretary's closest aides while maintaining confidence in the secretary herself creates an awkward split. It echoes similar "full confidence" messaging the administration has deployed around other senior officials facing scrutiny.
The Department of Labor did not immediately respond to the Post's request for comment. Neither did Chavez-DeRemer, Sloan, Han, Wright, or Robey.
Step back and count the damage. The chief of staff, gone. The deputy, gone. The security guard, gone. The Director of Advance, sidelined. That is four members of the secretary's inner circle removed or neutralized in a matter of weeks, all while an inspector general investigation grinds forward.
People familiar with the probe told the Post that investigators have gathered sufficient evidence of a "toxic" work environment. That finding alone would be damaging. Combined with the travel-expense allegations and the relationship claims, it paints a portrait of a Cabinet office that lost its way.
Politico first reported Sloan's resignation Thursday night, and the Post confirmed it. The drip of revelations shows no sign of stopping. Each departure raises the same question: how much did Chavez-DeRemer know, and when?
The administration has dealt with resignation-driven turbulence in other corners of the executive branch. But the Labor Department situation stands out because the allegations go beyond policy disagreements or personality clashes. They involve potential misuse of taxpayer money, a compromised chain of command, and an inspector general investigation that is still active.
Several questions remain unanswered. The IG investigation has not concluded. No formal findings have been released. The exact scope of the travel-expense irregularities is still unclear, and Chavez-DeRemer has not publicly addressed the allegations.
Conservatives who championed her nomination, the former Oregon congresswoman was seen as a pro-worker voice in the Cabinet, deserve straight answers. So do the rank-and-file employees at the Department of Labor who, by all accounts, have been working under difficult conditions.
The White House was right to force out the aides who allegedly abused staff and gamed the travel system. If the facts warrant it, accountability should not stop at the staff level.
Taxpayers don't fund Cabinet offices so officials can ride limousines through North Dakota and fabricate trip justifications. If this administration means what it says about draining waste and restoring trust, the standard has to apply to everyone, including the people the president appointed.
