WASHINGTON — Two of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s top aides have resigned amid an ongoing probe of possible misconduct by officials in the Labor Department, according to a department official and another source familiar with the matter.
Chavez-DeRemer’s chief of staff, Jihun Han, and his deputy, Rebecca Wright, had been placed on administrative leave in mid-January while the Labor Department’s inspector general investigates possible “travel fraud.”
The staffers were given 24 hours to resign after they were informed that their positions had been terminated, the person familiar with the matter said.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment. In January, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump was aware of the inquiry and “stands by” Chavez-DeRemer.
A formal complaint was filed against Chavez-DeRemer, which alleged that she pursued an “inappropriate” relationship with a subordinate and resulted in the IG’s investigation. Her lawyer has denied allegations involving her.
The New York Post was first to report Han’s and Wright’s resignations. Neither responded to requests for comment from NBC News.
At least one additional staffer has been temporarily relieved of duties, NBC News has reported. That staffer, a member of Chavez-DeRemer’s security detail, has been on leave since Jan. 16 as officials investigate allegations of a romantic relationship between the two, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to NBC News.
Reached for comment on the security staffer's suspension in January, an attorney representing Chavez-DeRemer, Nick Oberheiden, told NBC News that it was not in Chavez-DeRemer's "interest to comment on unverified (and unverifiable) information that potentially stems from inside sources like investigators who, under federal law, would have been barred from disclosing investigate details."
The department's inspector general, charged with investigating the matter, is former Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y., who served with Chavez-DeRemer in the House when she represented a district in Oregon.
The inspector general is investigating whether Han and Wright engaged in “travel fraud” by setting up professional events that Chavez-DeRemer used as an excuse for personal travel, two people familiar with the matter told NBC News in January.
A spokesperson for the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) previously told NBC News that the office’s policy is “to neither confirm nor deny the existence or nonexistence of any O.I.G. investigation or complaint beyond what is published on our website. D.O.L. O.I.G. remains committed to rooting out fraud, waste, abuse and corruption through objective, independent oversight of the U.S. Department of Labor.”
Chavez-DeRemer has led the Labor Department since March 2025 after she was confirmed by the Senate. She served in the House for one term from 2023 to 2025.
