Oregon— The White House, Department of Labor, and the Labor Department’s Inspector General have all commented on allegations in a New York Post article alleging misconduct by Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a former Republican Congresswoman and Happy Valley, OR Mayor. The New York Post’s article claims that department staff were placed on leave amid an OIG investigation into the Secretary’s travel. President Donald Trump’s Assistant Press Secretary Taylor Rogers delivered the White House’s official comments.:
“The New York Post was unable to provide any evidence to corroborate these baseless claims in this ‘report’ supposedly filed by a FORMER disgruntled employee. Additionally, they were unable to present any evidence that this ‘report’ was ever even filed. Reporting on these allegations without any evidence to back them is basic journalistic malpractice. Secretary Chavez-DeRemer is an incredible asset to President Trump’s team and she will continue advancing the President’s America First agenda.”
Assistant Secretary of Labor Courtney Parella also weighed in on the allegations:
“These unsubstantiated allegations are categorically false. Secretary Chavez-DeRemer has complied with all ethics rules and Department policies and remains fully engaged in carrying out the Department’s work on behalf of this historic Administration. The Secretary is considering all possible avenues, including legal action, to fight these baseless accusations from anonymous sources.”
US Department of Labor Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito served a single term in the US House of Representatives alongside Secretary Chavez-DeRemer, where they both co-sponsored the Stand with Israel Act. The unsuccessful bill would have defunded US government contributions to United Nations Agencies that restricted the participation of the State of Israel in response to the Gaza War. As the White House cast doubt on the existence of any report, OIG steered the public toward their publicly available investigation list:
“It is the policy of the DOL OIG to neither confirm nor deny the existence or non-existence of any OIG investigation or complaint beyond what is published on our website.”
The Labor Department’s website list 258 investigation announcements on their website in 2025, none of which involve Secretary Chavez-DeRemer.
The New York Post is a subsidiary of News Corp, which also owns Fox News and the obscure Oil Price Information Service (OPIS), a petroleum products price reporting agency. The Trump Administration undertook a significant antitrust enforcement action against OPIS in 2025 when an antitrust case revealed that the company was facilitating monopolistic price-fixing communications between PVC pipe manufactures. OPIS settled for $6 million with the US Department of Justice. President Trump called for a Fox News pollster to be investigated for election fraud in April 2025, then denigrated Fox News for “FAKE SPIN” in October 2025. The New York Post did not disclose any enforcement actions against News Corp by the Trump Administration in its original article describing alleged complaints.
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