Labor Department Headquarters Bars Husband of the Boss

The Labor Department has barred the husband of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer from its Washington headquarters after two female staff members accused him of sexual assault in the agency's main building. The women said that Dr. Shawn DeRemer, an anesthesiologist, inappropriately touched them at the department's Constitution Avenue headquarters, according to people familiar with the matter and a police report reviewed by the New York Times. That video was reviewed as part of a criminal investigation that Politico reports is active. DeRemer has not been criminally charged.

Washington's Metropolitan Police Department recorded a report of "forced sexual contact" at the Labor Department in December, a spokesman said—the only such report tied to the agency's address in the past three months. After investigators interviewed the women, DeRemer was formally restricted from the Frances Perkins Building. The allegations emerged in January as part of a broader inquiry by the department's inspector general into Chavez-DeRemer and her senior staff. That investigation is examining claims that she engaged in an improper sexual relationship with a member of her security detail and misused her office by taking staff to strip clubs, consuming alcohol while on duty, and using government resources for personal travel.

Her attorney has denied those accusations, per the Times. The widening probe has led to several aides and security personnel close to the secretary being placed on administrative or investigative leave. In addition, per Politico, at least two complaints claim that Chavez-DeRemer's aides tried to improperly steer grant decisions to favored applicants. White House officials have said that President Trump retains faith in Chavez-DeRemer.