Former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer had an improperly close relationship with her bodyguard and instructed a member of her security detail to hand cash to “partially nude dancers” during a visit to an Oregon strip club, according to a Labor Department inspector general report released Thursday.
Chavez-DeRemer stepped down in April, three months after The Post first revealed that the inspector general was examining her relationship with security guard Brian Sloan, as well as claims that she misused her authority as a senior official in the Trump administration.
“The OIG [Office of the Inspector General] concluded that a preponderance of the evidence substantiated multiple violations of DOL [Labor Department] policy,” the report said.
Investigators found that Chavez-DeRemer “developed and maintained an inappropriately close and unprofessional relationship with [Sloan] while he exercised supervisory and operational authority over her protective detail that was inconsistent with federal impartiality and preferential-treatment standards,” the report stated.
The report also said Chavez-DeRemer “failed to comply with DOL policy prohibiting harassment in the workplace.”
However, the inspector general noted there was not enough evidence “to establish that Chavez-DeRemer and [Sloan] engaged in a romantic or sexual relationship.”
The watchdog’s findings also confirmed and expanded on an April 2025 episode, first reported by The Post in February, in which Chavez-DeRemer brought subordinates — including her bodyman — to a strip club in Oregon.
During the “off the record” outing to the “partially nude” venue, Chavez-DeRemer “took money from her purse, gave the money to the driver [a member of security detail], and directed him to give it to the performer,” according to the report.
“When the agent resisted and sought guidance from [Sloan], [Sloan] instructed him to comply with Chavez-DeRemer’s requests,” the report stated. “Chavez-DeRemer then took additional money from her purse and asked the agent to drop the bills one by one onto the partially nude woman.
“The agent again hesitated and sought intervention from [Sloan], who told him to follow Chavez-DeRemer’s instructions. The agent complied against his wishes.”
The report listed four other “areas” in which Chavez-DeRemer broke protocol.
She “combined personal and official travel in a manner inconsistent with DOL policy… possessed and consumed alcohol on federal property without proper authorization … directed government employees to perform personal tasks using official time and resources … and failed to report gifts through required channels.”
Furthermore, the IG found evidence that substantiated “multiple violations” of department policy by four Chavez-DeRemer subordinates, including Sloan.
The IG obtained electronic hotel door lock records from two Las Vegas trips Chavez-DeRemer took with Sloan that “appeared to indicate” the two spent at least “portions overnight in the other’s room.”
The Post previously obtained images of Chavez-DeRemer sipping drinks poolside at the Las Vegas Red Rocks Casino Resort and Spa during an October 2025 trip with her bodyguard to celebrate her niece’s 40th birthday party.
The trip took place while the federal government was shut down.
A witness also reported observing Chavez-DeRemer massaging Sloan’s shoulders while seated behind him in a vehicle during a trip to Michigan, and hearing the bodyman make a comment interpreted as “sexual innuendo.”
“She asked whether he was tired, and [Sloan] responded that he was ‘solid as a rock,’ after which both laughed,” the report stated.
Three fired former Chavez-DeRemer staffers — ex-chief of staff Jihun Han, then-deputy chief of staff Rebecca Wright, and former director of advance Melissa Robey — also failed to comply with several department policies related to workplace harassment, consuming alcohol while on the job, improper travel and misuse of government resources.
The IG report noted that multiple witnesses reported that Chavez-DeRemer, in consultation with Wright, excluded agents from her security detail based on the “perception that they were too old, physically unfit, overly rule-bound, or ‘too MAGA,’” complicating efforts to keep the secretary protected.
Last month, Chavez-DeRemer joined Log Cabin Republicans, an advocacy group for gay, lesbian and bisexual conservatives, as a member of its board of directors.
The organization did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment from Chavez-DeRemer.
