The White House gave Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer's two most senior aides a simple choice Monday night: resign or be fired. Both chose the door.
Chief of staff Jihun Han and deputy chief of staff Rebecca Wright are out at the Department of Labor, according to sources who spoke to The Post. Their departures come roughly two months after department watchdog Anthony D'Esposito launched an investigation into allegations of verbal abuse of staffers, misuse of taxpayer dollars for personal travel, and what people familiar with the probe described as a "toxic" work environment.
Neither Han nor Wright had been questioned by investigators at the time of their departure.
The inspector general's investigation paints a picture of a department where personal loyalty to the secretary overrode basic standards of conduct. A complaint filed with D'Esposito's office, first reported by The Post in January, alleged that Han and Wright created a hostile workplace, leaned on subordinates to suppress uncomfortable questions, and blurred the line between official business and personal travel.
Wright apparently said the quiet part out loud. In a meeting, she told colleagues:
We don't care what the White House tells us to do. We only care that the secretary looks good.
That remark reportedly enraged the White House, which views it as a direct swipe at President Trump's authority over his own Cabinet. When your job exists because the President appointed your boss, telling people you don't care what the White House thinks is a remarkable act of self-destruction.
The allegations against Han are no less damaging. When staffers raised questions in late 2025 about a rumored affair involving the secretary and a member of her security detail, Han allegedly told them to "leave it alone." Rather than ensuring accountability, sources say he provided cover for the misconduct and pressured subordinates into silence.
The travel allegations illustrate the kind of casual entitlement that erodes public trust in government. In December, Chavez-DeRemer and Wright attended an America First Policy Institute event in Palm Beach, Florida. Ethics officials warned both women that they had to pay their own way for portions of the trip. According to the IG complaint, they responded by scheduling an "official" dinner for just the two of them, an apparent attempt to dress personal activity in government clothes.
A five-day trip listed just one speaking engagement at a luncheon. Five days. One event.
The probe also uncovered evidence that Chavez-DeRemer took subordinates to an Oregon strip club while on an official trip in April 2025. Additional allegations include drinking in her office during the workday and keeping a stash of alcohol on the premises. These are the kinds of details that don't require editorial commentary. They speak for themselves.
Chavez-DeRemer's anesthesiologist husband, Dr. Shawn DeRemer, was pulled into the widening scandal after a Jan. 24 report to the Metropolitan Police Department alleged sexual contact against a female DOL staffer's will, classified as a misdemeanor. The matter was initially referred to the Federal Protective Service to investigate a potential crime committed inside a government building. Ultimately, the feds declined to pursue charges, and the case was closed.
Dr. DeRemer was barred from the Labor Department's main building following the allegation. His attorney, James Bell, issued a forceful denial:
Categorically, unequivocally, and emphatically denies each and every one of the allegations.
Chavez-DeRemer's personal attorney, Nick Oberheiden, said the secretary "firmly denies any allegations of wrongdoing."
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley launched his own probe in February, writing directly to Chavez-DeRemer. His letter carried the weight of a man who has spent decades holding executive agencies accountable, regardless of which party controls them. Grassley warned that the allegations:
If true, represent a serious breach of the public's trust.
Oberheiden said his client is "fully cooperating" with the senator's request. Given the trajectory of this story, cooperation is the minimum, not a credit.
The most significant detail in this story is not the misconduct itself. Government attracts bad actors the way a porch light attracts moths. The significant detail is that the White House moved decisively once the scope of the problem became clear. Han and Wright were placed on administrative leave in January. When the investigation continued to produce damaging findings, they were given the ultimatum on Monday night.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Jan. 15 that President Trump is "aware of the internal investigation" and "thinks that she's doing a tremendous job at the Department of Labor on behalf of American workers." The praise for Chavez-DeRemer's policy work and the removal of her compromised staff are not contradictory. You can value an appointee's mission while refusing to tolerate the people around her who undermined it.
Conservatives rightly demand accountability from government officials. That standard cannot apply selectively. When aides abuse staff, waste taxpayer money on dubious travel, and openly declare they don't care what the White House says, removal isn't just appropriate. It's obligatory.
Han and Wright are gone. The inspector general's probe continues. And the Department of Labor now has two fewer people who confuse serving a Cabinet secretary with serving the public.
