Politics Random, Random

[ti-amie]

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer under investigation for ‘inappropriate’ relationship with employee
By Josh Christenson
Published Jan. 9, 2026, 7:30 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON — Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is under an internal investigation following an explosive complaint alleging she’s been “abusing her position” by pursuing an “inappropriate” relationship with a subordinate, according to sources and documents reviewed by The Post.

Chavez-DeRemer, 57, has welcomed her alleged paramour at least three times to her DC apartment and twice into her hotel room while traveling, alleges a complaint filed with the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Inspector General last week, which has since begun a probe.

The former Oregon congresswoman is also accused of drinking in her office during the workday and committing “travel fraud” by having her chief of staff and deputy chief of staff “make up” official trips to destinations where Chavez-DeRemer can spend time with family or friends on the taxpayers’ dime.

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers called the allegations “baseless.”

“Secretary Chavez-DeRemer is an incredible asset to President Trump’s team and she will continue advancing the President’s America First agenda,” Rogers said in a statement.


Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is being investigated by her department’s Office of Inspector General for pursuing an “inappropriate” relationship with a subordinate, according to sources and internal documents. AP

Sources also accused her of being a “boss from hell,” by forcing aides to run personal errands or perform other menial tasks while on the clock.

Chavez-DeRemer, chief of staff Jihun Han, and deputy chief of staff Rebecca Wright — whom the complaint alleges are “involved and have knowledge of these issues” — are all now under investigation by the DOL’s Office of Inspector General, according to sources and documents.

“These unsubstantiated allegations are categorically false,” said DOL spokesperson Courtney Parella. “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.”

A spokesperson for the DOL’s inspector general’s office, which is run by former New York GOP Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, said: “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.”

“DOL OIG remains committed to rooting out fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption through objective, independent oversight of the U.S. Department of Labor,” the rep added. D’Esposito referred The Post to an IG spokesperson for comment.

Two purported meet-ups between Chavez-DeRemer and her alleged affair partner took place in September, after the mom-of-two told her security detail that protection wasn’t needed, according to the IG complaint.

A third alleged visit occurred at the same DC apartment in October, when the man waited until the agents protecting the secretary went home before driving over, the complaint noted.

The subordinate allegedly entangled with the secretary told the Post, “I got lawyers, so I’m not gonna talk to you. I have nothing to say.” He declined to provide his lawyers’ contact information.

Chavez-DeRemer and the staffer traveled together to the Red Rocks Casino Resort and Spa in Las Vegas in late October to celebrate her niece’s 40th birthday party while the federal government was shut down, photos and videos obtained by The Post show.

The complaint said that additional video footage from the hotel shows the pair engaging in unprofessional behavior on at least two trips to Vegas in 2025. The Post has not seen the alleged footage.

When word of the alleged misconduct began circulating in the department, Chavez-DeRemer instructed her chief of staff, Han, to “leave it alone,” the complaint stated.

The complaint also described Chavez-DeRemer drinking in her office — with references to “a stash” of champagne, bourbon and Kahlua that she keeps there.

In 2025, the DOL spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars for the secretary to visit 37 states on more than 50 official trips, according to sources and official travel schedules.

At least 10 of those visits were to Nevada or locations where she has personal ties — including her home state of Oregon; Arizona, where she and her anesthesiologist husband have a home that’s listed as a primary residence in mortgage documents, as ProPublica first reported; and Michigan, where her daughter resides.

“There’s not an ounce of truth to this, and anyone who knows my wife would know that,” said Chavez-DeRemer’s husband, Dr. Shawn DeRemer, of the allegations in a statement.

In November alone, the labor secretary went on five trips, three of which were listed in her own travel schedules as “personal” and included stops in Michigan, Oregon and California, according to schedules reviewed by The Post.

While on official travel, Chavez-DeRemer will speak for 30 minutes to an hour and then does “personal stuff” and “goes out drinking at night” on the government’s dime, according to the complaint.

“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,” Rogers, from the White House, said in a statement. “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.”

Chavez-DeRemer did not respond to a request for comment.

During her failed 2024 House re-election bid, Chavez-DeRemer splurged on more than $56,000 on luxury hotels and $4,345 on limo and chauffeur services.

Such use of campaign funds are not prohibited by federal law and Chavez-DeRemer was not accused of violating election laws.

https://nypost.com/2026/01/09/us-news/l ... -employee/

[ti-amie]

‘Highly problematic’: Trump admin faces internal doubts over ICE shooting response
Even supporters of the president fear that the administration’s approach risks undermining public confidence in the ongoing investigation.

By Myah Ward01/09/2026 05:59 PM EST

The Trump administration’s rapid and aggressive response to the Minnesota shooting has prompted quiet concern among some administration allies, as well as former and current Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

Particular anguish centers around how quickly Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, in public remarks from Brownsville, Texas, on Wednesday insisted that Renee Good, the 37-year old woman killed by an ICE officer, had committed an act of “domestic terrorism” and tried to “ram them with her vehicle.”

Even supporters of the president fear that the administration’s approach — within hours the White House deputy chief of staff had also deemed this a case of “domestic terrorism” — risks undermining public confidence in the ongoing investigation and expanding the credibility gap between the public and the immigration agency patrolling dozens of American cities.

“Do I think it’s domestic terrorism? Yeah, I do,” said a person close to the White House, who, like others in the story, was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the sensitive situation and ongoing investigation. “But it might not have been wise to say that at the outset, how [Noem] said it.”

Within 48 hours, another shooting, this time in Portland, Oregon, by a Customs and Border Protection officer, further inflamed outrage as protesters, Democrats and top administration officials accused each other of fascism and terrorism.

The shootings — and the eye witness videos circulating on the internet — come amid heightened tensions between Americans and the thousands of federal agents deployed in U.S. cities. Vice President JD Vance on Thursday lamented the threats and attacks ICE agents are under. On Friday, he shared a new video that he implied vindicated the officer in Minnesota by showing his “life was endangered and he fired in self defense.”

Still, the administration’s aggressive tactics, aimed at ramping up arrests and deportations, have brought widespread condemnation and a growing number of confrontations between protesters and immigration officials, who are deployed for crowd control and other tasks the agencies historically don’t perform.

It has left ICE as the latest and most prominent example of an ongoing national Rorschach test in which Republicans and Democrats watch the same video and claim to see wildly different truths, and some inside the agency worry that the administration’s rhetoric will only widen political fractures.

“I don’t know how we recover from this,” said an administration official.

In Portland, DHS said the agents were attempting to stop an unauthorized immigrant from Venezuela affiliated with the Tren de Aragua gang. Portland police said officers responded to the scene and treated a man and a woman with gunshot wounds, both of whom remain hospitalized.

The Portland FBI issued an initial post Thursday on X characterizing the incident as an officer-involved shooting. It was later deleted. When POLITICO requested the statement from Portland FBI Thursday evening, it characterized it as an “assault on federal officers.”

The incident in Portland appeared to be a targeted operation, but Democrats tied it to the shooting in Minneapolis as another example of the Trump administration rushing to close a case prior to an investigation. Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth said Friday that the administration “can’t be trusted,” citing a separate case in Chicago from last year.

“This pattern of ‘shoot first, then lie, lie, deny’ has to stop,” she said. “The videos don’t lie.”

The administration official was more sympathetic to the Portland agents because it was a targeted operation, but the official added that it will be difficult for the average American to separate the two closely-timed incidents.

“This is highly problematic and not a good look and not something our government should be remotely engaged in,” the administration official said of the Minneapolis shooting.

When asked about concerns that the administration’s approach could undermine public confidence in its investigation, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin also pointed POLITICO to the new footage shared by Vance and other administration officials. She added: “If you weaponize a vehicle, a deadly weapon to kill or cause bodily harm to a federal law enforcement officer, that is an act of domestic terrorism and will be prosecuted as such.”

Minnesota officials have accused federal law enforcement of stymying state investigators into the deadly ICE-related shooting, which came as more than 2,000 agents descended on Minnesota this week in the Trump administration’s largest immigration operation to date. As for Oregon, state officials have opened a separate investigation.

Officers were deployed to the North Star State from across the country, as part of the administration’s efforts to crackdown on the welfare-fraud scandal in the state.

Just hours after the shooting in Minneapolis, DHS declared on X that the woman’s actions were an act of “domestic terrorism.” Noem gave live remarks soon after echoing this conclusion. White House officials argued the same, all before an investigation had really begun.

“Whatever outcome this investigation produces, I don’t see how anyone’s gonna believe it when the secretary already is firmly — and doubled down on — a conclusion without knowing all the facts,” said John Sandweg, who led ICE from 2013 to 2014 under the Obama administration.

Border czar Tom Homan’s response was initially more measured, telling CBS News that he wouldn’t comment on an ongoing investigation. He released a statement later on Wednesday, saying the “brave women and men of ICE are heroes. Like all Americans, our officers have a right to self defense. Full stop.”

The White House on Thursday added a press briefing to the schedule, with Vance at the podium for more than 30 minutes fielding questions from reporters. Vance said, without offering evidence, that the woman shot and killed in Minnesota was influenced by a leftist network. Reporters pushed him on whether there was a risk in defining the victim in the early stages of the investigation. He said the Department of Justice, in addition to the investigation DHS is conducting, will continue to look into the incident.

“But the simple fact is what you see is what you get in this case. You have a woman who was trying to obstruct a legitimate law enforcement officer. Nobody debates that. I can believe that her death is a tragedy, while also recognizing that it’s a tragedy of her own making and a tragedy of a far-left who has martialed an entire movement of lunatic fringe against our law enforcement officers.”

Trump on Friday was asked during his meeting with oil executives about what he’s learned about the “left wing network” Vance referred to. The president said he had not seen the vice president’s remarks, but he referenced a woman screaming “shame” in one of the videos circulating online and called her a “professional troublemaker.”

“You have agitators, and we will always be protecting ICE and we will always be protecting our Border Patrol and our law enforcement,” the president told reporters.

Court filings show that the officer who shot Good, Jonathan Ross, had been injured in June when he was dragged by a different vehicle in Minnesota. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Thursday that the officer had “abrasions all over his body” from the operation targeting an unauthorized immigrant convicted of felony sexual assault on a minor and suggested that it helps explains why Ross was likely on hyper-alert when Good began driving.

But some former and current officials who have worked in immigration enforcement — while they note many facts remain unknown — were alarmed by the footage and the agent’s decision to fire his weapon. And Sandweg, the former ICE leader, fears that the administration’s response will only create more challenges for law enforcement officers who are already being placed in “tough” situations they aren’t trained for.

“You’re not doing the agency or the agents any justice when you rush out and reflexively defend them. You just create risks of more of this,” he said. “No one at ICE goes to work saying ‘I want to shoot someone,’ absolutely not. But the aggression is being rewarded, and I think sometimes you’re better off to just stop and think a little bit.”

Josh Gerstein and Eric Bazail-Eimil contributed to this report.

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/0 ... e-00720663

[Owendonovan]

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer under investigation for ‘inappropriate’ relationship with employee
By Josh Christenson
Published Jan. 9, 2026, 7:30 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON — Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is under an internal investigation following an explosive complaint alleging she’s been “abusing her position” by pursuing an “inappropriate” relationship with a subordinate, according to sources and documents reviewed by The Post.

Chavez-DeRemer, 57, has welcomed her alleged paramour at least three times to her DC apartment and twice into her hotel room while traveling, alleges a complaint filed with the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Inspector General last week, which has since begun a probe.

The former Oregon congresswoman is also accused of drinking in her office during the workday and committing “travel fraud” by having her chief of staff and deputy chief of staff “make up” official trips to destinations where Chavez-DeRemer can spend time with family or friends on the taxpayers’ dime.

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers called the allegations “baseless.”

“Secretary Chavez-DeRemer is an incredible asset to President Trump’s team and she will continue advancing the President’s America First agenda,” Rogers said in a statement.


Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is being investigated by her department’s Office of Inspector General for pursuing an “inappropriate” relationship with a subordinate, according to sources and internal documents. AP

Sources also accused her of being a “boss from hell,” by forcing aides to run personal errands or perform other menial tasks while on the clock.

Chavez-DeRemer, chief of staff Jihun Han, and deputy chief of staff Rebecca Wright — whom the complaint alleges are “involved and have knowledge of these issues” — are all now under investigation by the DOL’s Office of Inspector General, according to sources and documents.

“These unsubstantiated allegations are categorically false,” said DOL spokesperson Courtney Parella. “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.”

A spokesperson for the DOL’s inspector general’s office, which is run by former New York GOP Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, said: “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.”

“DOL OIG remains committed to rooting out fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption through objective, independent oversight of the U.S. Department of Labor,” the rep added. D’Esposito referred The Post to an IG spokesperson for comment.

Two purported meet-ups between Chavez-DeRemer and her alleged affair partner took place in September, after the mom-of-two told her security detail that protection wasn’t needed, according to the IG complaint.

A third alleged visit occurred at the same DC apartment in October, when the man waited until the agents protecting the secretary went home before driving over, the complaint noted.

The subordinate allegedly entangled with the secretary told the Post, “I got lawyers, so I’m not gonna talk to you. I have nothing to say.” He declined to provide his lawyers’ contact information.

Chavez-DeRemer and the staffer traveled together to the Red Rocks Casino Resort and Spa in Las Vegas in late October to celebrate her niece’s 40th birthday party while the federal government was shut down, photos and videos obtained by The Post show.

The complaint said that additional video footage from the hotel shows the pair engaging in unprofessional behavior on at least two trips to Vegas in 2025. The Post has not seen the alleged footage.

When word of the alleged misconduct began circulating in the department, Chavez-DeRemer instructed her chief of staff, Han, to “leave it alone,” the complaint stated.

The complaint also described Chavez-DeRemer drinking in her office — with references to “a stash” of champagne, bourbon and Kahlua that she keeps there.

In 2025, the DOL spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars for the secretary to visit 37 states on more than 50 official trips, according to sources and official travel schedules.

At least 10 of those visits were to Nevada or locations where she has personal ties — including her home state of Oregon; Arizona, where she and her anesthesiologist husband have a home that’s listed as a primary residence in mortgage documents, as ProPublica first reported; and Michigan, where her daughter resides.

“There’s not an ounce of truth to this, and anyone who knows my wife would know that,” said Chavez-DeRemer’s husband, Dr. Shawn DeRemer, of the allegations in a statement.

In November alone, the labor secretary went on five trips, three of which were listed in her own travel schedules as “personal” and included stops in Michigan, Oregon and California, according to schedules reviewed by The Post.

While on official travel, Chavez-DeRemer will speak for 30 minutes to an hour and then does “personal stuff” and “goes out drinking at night” on the government’s dime, according to the complaint.

“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,” Rogers, from the White House, said in a statement. “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.”

Chavez-DeRemer did not respond to a request for comment.

During her failed 2024 House re-election bid, Chavez-DeRemer splurged on more than $56,000 on luxury hotels and $4,345 on limo and chauffeur services.

Such use of campaign funds are not prohibited by federal law and Chavez-DeRemer was not accused of violating election laws.

https://nypost.com/2026/01/09/us-news/l ... -employee/

Of everything they could investigate, they choose this? Pfft.

[ti-amie]

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer under investigation for ‘inappropriate’ relationship with employee
By Josh Christenson
Published Jan. 9, 2026, 7:30 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON — Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is under an internal investigation following an explosive complaint alleging she’s been “abusing her position” by pursuing an “inappropriate” relationship with a subordinate, according to sources and documents reviewed by The Post.

Chavez-DeRemer, 57, has welcomed her alleged paramour at least three times to her DC apartment and twice into her hotel room while traveling, alleges a complaint filed with the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Inspector General last week, which has since begun a probe.

The former Oregon congresswoman is also accused of drinking in her office during the workday and committing “travel fraud” by having her chief of staff and deputy chief of staff “make up” official trips to destinations where Chavez-DeRemer can spend time with family or friends on the taxpayers’ dime.

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers called the allegations “baseless.”

“Secretary Chavez-DeRemer is an incredible asset to President Trump’s team and she will continue advancing the President’s America First agenda,” Rogers said in a statement.


Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is being investigated by her department’s Office of Inspector General for pursuing an “inappropriate” relationship with a subordinate, according to sources and internal documents. AP

Sources also accused her of being a “boss from hell,” by forcing aides to run personal errands or perform other menial tasks while on the clock.

Chavez-DeRemer, chief of staff Jihun Han, and deputy chief of staff Rebecca Wright — whom the complaint alleges are “involved and have knowledge of these issues” — are all now under investigation by the DOL’s Office of Inspector General, according to sources and documents.

“These unsubstantiated allegations are categorically false,” said DOL spokesperson Courtney Parella. “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.”

A spokesperson for the DOL’s inspector general’s office, which is run by former New York GOP Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, said: “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.”

“DOL OIG remains committed to rooting out fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption through objective, independent oversight of the U.S. Department of Labor,” the rep added. D’Esposito referred The Post to an IG spokesperson for comment.

Two purported meet-ups between Chavez-DeRemer and her alleged affair partner took place in September, after the mom-of-two told her security detail that protection wasn’t needed, according to the IG complaint.

A third alleged visit occurred at the same DC apartment in October, when the man waited until the agents protecting the secretary went home before driving over, the complaint noted.

The subordinate allegedly entangled with the secretary told the Post, “I got lawyers, so I’m not gonna talk to you. I have nothing to say.” He declined to provide his lawyers’ contact information.

Chavez-DeRemer and the staffer traveled together to the Red Rocks Casino Resort and Spa in Las Vegas in late October to celebrate her niece’s 40th birthday party while the federal government was shut down, photos and videos obtained by The Post show.

The complaint said that additional video footage from the hotel shows the pair engaging in unprofessional behavior on at least two trips to Vegas in 2025. The Post has not seen the alleged footage.

When word of the alleged misconduct began circulating in the department, Chavez-DeRemer instructed her chief of staff, Han, to “leave it alone,” the complaint stated.

The complaint also described Chavez-DeRemer drinking in her office — with references to “a stash” of champagne, bourbon and Kahlua that she keeps there.

In 2025, the DOL spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars for the secretary to visit 37 states on more than 50 official trips, according to sources and official travel schedules.

At least 10 of those visits were to Nevada or locations where she has personal ties — including her home state of Oregon; Arizona, where she and her anesthesiologist husband have a home that’s listed as a primary residence in mortgage documents, as ProPublica first reported; and Michigan, where her daughter resides.

“There’s not an ounce of truth to this, and anyone who knows my wife would know that,” said Chavez-DeRemer’s husband, Dr. Shawn DeRemer, of the allegations in a statement.

In November alone, the labor secretary went on five trips, three of which were listed in her own travel schedules as “personal” and included stops in Michigan, Oregon and California, according to schedules reviewed by The Post.

While on official travel, Chavez-DeRemer will speak for 30 minutes to an hour and then does “personal stuff” and “goes out drinking at night” on the government’s dime, according to the complaint.

“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,” Rogers, from the White House, said in a statement. “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.”

Chavez-DeRemer did not respond to a request for comment.

During her failed 2024 House re-election bid, Chavez-DeRemer splurged on more than $56,000 on luxury hotels and $4,345 on limo and chauffeur services.

Such use of campaign funds are not prohibited by federal law and Chavez-DeRemer was not accused of violating election laws.

https://nypost.com/2026/01/09/us-news/l ... -employee/

Of everything they could investigate, they choose this? Pfft.

Of course. Better than those pesky files...

[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

California becomes first state to join WHO disease network after US exit
by Joseph Choi - 01/23/26 2:01 PM ET

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced just one day after the U.S. officially withdrew from the World Health Organization (WHO) that his state would become the first to join the organization’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, in a seeming rebuke of the Trump administration’s withdrawal from international collaborations.

Newsom traveled this week to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he was scheduled to speak at an event but was canceled at the last moment. During his trip, he met with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“As President Trump withdraws the United States from the World Health Organization, California is stepping up under Governor Gavin Newsom — becoming the first, and currently the only, state to join the WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network (GOARN), strengthening public health preparedness and rapid response coordination,” Newsom’s office said in a statement.

This announcement comes just one day after the U.S.’s withdrawal from the WHO became official after nearly 80 years of membership, having been a founding member of the organization.

“The Trump administration’s withdrawal from WHO is a reckless decision that will hurt all Californians and Americans,” Newsom said in a statement. “California will not bear witness to the chaos this decision will bring. We will continue to foster partnerships across the globe and remain at the forefront of public health preparedness, including through our membership as the only state in WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network.”

Since the start of the second Trump administration, California has increasingly separated itself from the federal government when it comes to health policy, joining a coalition of states in launching both the West Coast Health Alliance and the Governors Public Health Alliance to lead public health policies that diverge from that of the White House.

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watc ... alifornia/

[ti-amie]

"WTF did you just do?!"

Graphic video out of Minneapolis

[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

[dryrunguy]

There have been so many times I have said to myself, "Now THAT ought to do it." This was one of them. And then I come back to reality. If we're not living in a police state, we are teetering on the precipice.

[ti-amie]

[Owendonovan]

Pam can go reproduce herself, what a miserable cabinet of ghouls.

[ponchi101]

"Violence against ICE officers".
That's ... rich.