A sitting Labor Secretary’s husband faced criminal investigation and was barred from agency headquarters after multiple staffers accused him of sexual assault, exposing a stunning security and vetting failure within a cabinet-level department.
Criminal Investigation Targets Secretary’s Spouse
Dr. Shawn DeRemer became the subject of a DC Metropolitan Police criminal investigation after multiple female Department of Labor employees accused him of sexual assault. The allegations emerged in February 2026, forcing department officials to immediately bar him from entering Labor Department headquarters. The investigation marked an unprecedented crisis for a cabinet secretary, whose spouse had apparently been granted routine access to secure federal facilities despite lacking official government capacity or security clearance justification.
Prosecutorial Decision Closes Criminal Case
Following the Metropolitan Police investigation, prosecutors declined to file criminal charges against Dr. DeRemer, though the specific reasoning behind this decision remains unclear. The absence of charges does not necessarily indicate the allegations lacked merit, as sexual assault cases notoriously face prosecutorial challenges including evidence standards and witness cooperation factors. The decision left accusers without legal recourse while simultaneously failing to exonerate Dr. DeRemer in the court of public opinion, creating an unresolved cloud over Secretary Chavez-DeRemer’s tenure.
Security Protocols Face Scrutiny
The incident exposed glaring vulnerabilities in how cabinet officials’ family members gain access to sensitive federal workspaces. Dr. DeRemer’s presence at Labor Department headquarters was apparently regular enough that multiple employees encountered him and felt threatened, suggesting he enjoyed unrestricted or minimally supervised access. This raises fundamental questions about why security officials permitted a cabinet spouse without official duties to frequent agency facilities where he could target employees. The vetting failure mirrors broader concerns about political appointees circumventing standard security procedures that protect rank-and-file government workers.
Workplace Safety Implications
Female Labor Department employees found themselves in an unconscionable position: allegedly facing sexual assault from their secretary’s husband within their own workplace. This power dynamic created obvious barriers to reporting, as victims would reasonably fear career retaliation or disbelief when accusing the spouse of their ultimate boss. The department’s apparent failure to proactively restrict Dr. DeRemer’s access before allegations surfaced suggests leadership prioritized convenience over employee protection. This undermines the basic expectation that federal workers can perform their duties without harassment from visitors lacking legitimate business.
Secretary Chavez-DeRemer’s continued tenure following these revelations reflects either confidence in her husband’s innocence or a calculation that the political cost of resignation outweighs the scandal. Either way, the episode demonstrates how executive branch accountability mechanisms struggle when misconduct allegations target family members rather than officials themselves. The absence of charges may have provided sufficient cover, but the underlying security failures and employee vulnerability concerns remain unaddressed, leaving a troubling precedent for future administrations regarding spousal access to federal facilities.
Sources:
Trump labor secretary’s husband barred from department (The Guardian)
Labor secretary’s husband barred from HQ amid staffers’ allegations (KOMO News)
Labor Chief’s Husband Accused of Sexually Assaulting Staff (Bloomberg Law)
Labor secretary’s husband won’t face charges after being barred from agency (CBS News)
Chavez-DeRemer’s husband barred from DOL headquarters (Politico)