MAGA secretary's bodyguard suspended over accusations the two had an affair

A bodyguard of President Donald Trump's Secretary of Labor, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, has been placed on leave, as officials investigate whether the two engaged in a secret romantic relationship, reported Bloomberg Law on Friday.

This follows prior reporting that Chavez-DeRemer was herself under investigation for "inappropriate" dealings with a subordinate, as well as on-the-job drinking and the fraudulent use of official trips to spend time with family and friends.

"Her chief of staff, Jihun Han, and deputy chief of staff, Rebecca Wright, were put on leave after an inspector general complaint alleging they helped facilitate the secretary’s improper work trips to spend time with family and friends became public," said the report. "It’s unclear if the bodyguard is named in the complaint."

Chavez-DeRemer has denied all the accusations against her, and officials at DOL say they are complying with investigators.

A former one-term member of Congress in Oregon, Chavez-DeRemer was one of a very small number of Republicans to back Democratic legislation to protect labor union rights — and she was named by Trump to the post, despite the administration's overwhelmingly anti-union stances and policy elsewhere, as a concession to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters for remaining neutral in the 2024 presidential election rather than endorsing the Democratic ticket.

Since her appointment, noted the report, Chavez-DeRemer "has sought to position herself as a bridge between the MAGA movement and organized labor ... and as the face of President Donald Trump’s efforts to help the working class. She spent much of her first year as labor secretary on a tour of all 50 states, including at least seven this January. She visited West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee earlier this week."