Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is departing her post, becoming the latest member of President Donald Trump’s cabinet to exit as he reshapes his team ahead of midterm elections.

“Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer will be leaving the Administration to take a position in the private sector,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said in a social media post Monday. Cheung said Keith Sonderling, currently the deputy labor secretary, would take on the role of the department’s acting head.

Chavez-DeRemer has been the subject of a Labor Department inspector general probe following claims she engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staffer, committed travel fraud and was drinking in the workplace. The White House initially defended her at the onset of the probe with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt saying Trump thinks she was doing a “tremendous job.”

A complaint to the inspector general accuses senior aides of fabricating work trips for the secretary so she could spend time with family and friends. Chavez-DeRemer is also accused of repeatedly inviting a staffer to her hotel room. Several aides were put on administrative leave while the agency’s inspector general investigates the allegations. The Labor Department has denied the accusations.

Chavez-DeRemer posted on social media that the claims against her, her family and team “have been peddled by high-ranked deep state actors who have been coordinating with the one-sided news media.” She added that she was “honored” to work for Trump.

NOTUS earlier Monday reported that Chavez-DeRemer had resigned, citing people familiar with the matter.

Chavez-DeRemer is the latest in a string of exits from the cabinet with midterm elections looming in November and Trump’s Republican Party facing an uphill climb to retain control of Congress. Polls show voters have soured on Trump’s economic agenda and most voters disapprove of his handling of the Iran war.

Trump kept his cabinet intact for the first year of his second term — a contrast from his tumultuous first stint in the White House, where there was high turnover among top officials. But in recent weeks Trump has begun to oust prominent members of his team. He replaced Kristi Noem in the top job at the Department of Homeland Security in March following bipartisan blowback to the administration’s immigration enforcement actions — in particular the killings of two U.S. citizens by agents — and in April dismissed Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Chavez-DeRemer, a former Republican congresswoman from Oregon, occupied an unusual ideological space in conservative circles as one of the few Republicans to openly support unions. She sought to position herself as a bridge between organized labor and Trump’s political base.

During Chavez-DeRemer’s tenure, the private equity industry notched a major win, securing an executive order and legal protections that pave the way for firms like Blackstone Inc. and Apollo Global Management Inc. to tap the $14 trillion retirement plan market.

The changes could make it easier for 401(k) plans to include private credit, private equity, crypto and real estate investments, a longtime goal for alternative asset managers.

She also presided over a rocky period at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which the Labor Department oversees. Trump has assailed the BLS for what he said are inaccurate numbers and ousted its chief last year. The BLS’ work has also been interrupted by government shutdowns, which temporarily halted the publication of jobs-related data.

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(With assistance from Kate Davidson.)

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