The Office of Inspector General’s investigation into Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer has spilled over into her husband, Dr. Shawn DeRemer, prompting a dramatic response from the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department earlier this month. In February, officers reportedly cleared out Department of Labor staff and conducted a full sweep of the building, according to POLITICO. Subtlety, as always, was not part of the plan.
Despite the spectacle, nothing criminal appears to have materialized. D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro reportedly found no prosecutable offense, and the Department of Homeland Security said it lacked prosecutorial authority in the matter. That leaves the OIG still holding the file, both on the secretary and the allegations tied to her husband.
Naturally, official mouths are sealed. DC Metro declined to comment. Federal agencies are saying as little as possible. The only one talking is the DeRemers’ attorney, who didn’t mince words. He called the allegations “a complete fabrication manufactured by Labor Department insiders vying for the Secretary of Labor’s position.” Given that Chavez-DeRemer was a fractured and unpopular pick in a department packed with career statists, that explanation doesn’t exactly sound far-fetched. When Republicans show up, the knives tend to come out.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has said the secretary still has President Trump’s backing, but the political reality is clear: controversial Cabinet picks in hostile bureaucracies rarely get a quiet honeymoon.
On Sunday, the Wall Street Journal reported that DC Metro has officially closed its probe into Shawn DeRemer. Detectives from the department’s sexual assault unit reviewed the case with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and concluded there was no evidence of a crime. Case closed. Still, Dr. DeRemer has reportedly been permanently barred from the Department of Labor building, proving that even when accusations fall apart, bureaucratic punishment can live on.
The OIG investigation into the allegations against Chavez-DeRemer continues, but so far, the supposed scandal has produced more headlines than hard evidence. And in Washington, that usually means one thing: the politics were louder than the facts.
At least for now, the law has spoken — and it spoke clearly. In a city that thrives on rumor, that’s a small but welcome win for due process and common sense.
