WASHINGTON — The Republican leader of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee placed a hold Friday on four of President Trump’s nominees to federal labor-related positions until the White House briefs lawmakers on the tumultuous tenure of former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
An internal watchdog report released Thursday detailed the former Oregon congresswoman’s inappropriate relationship with her bodyguard and included an account of a strip club trip during which the cabinet member ordered one of her security detail to drop cash on “partially nude dancers.”
“Now that the investigation is complete, we need answers,” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said in a statement. “Members and staff were not briefed on the findings. That is unacceptable and disregards Congress’s constitutional oversight role.”
Chavez-DeRemer resigned in April, three months after The Post first reported on the inspector general probe into her relationship with security guard Brian Sloan and allegations she abused her position.
“The HELP Committee will not consider additional labor nominees until bipartisan members and staff have been fully briefed,” Cassidy said.
Trump’s nominee to replace Chavez-DeRemer, Keith Sonderling, has already cleared the HELP Committee and is awaiting a full Senate vote.
The affected nominees are Mike Doyle for the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, Walter Darr for the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, and Doug Ralph and Loren Sweatt for the National Mediation Board.
The positions are with independent agencies, but all three deal with worker issues, including collective bargaining.
“These are highly qualified nominees that should be confirmed without delay,” a White House official told The Post Friday afternoon in response to Cassidy’s broadside.
Cassidy will leave the Senate in January after being denied a third term in a primary loss to his Trump-backed opponent. A senator can place a hold on a nominee at any time for any reason.
More than three dozen witnesses talked to the Labor Department’s Office of Inspector General about working for Chavez-DeRemer, describing a “toxic, intimidating and humiliating” environment.
According to testimony, the secretary and two of her top aides “regularly” drank on the job, issued verbal “beatdowns” to employees for “perceived performance deficiencies,” and in the case of Chavez-DeRemer’s deputy chief of staff, Rebecca Wright, “selected staff based on physical appearance rather than professional qualifications.”
The then-secretary also improperly used government funds for personal travel and accepted several expensive gifts without declaring them, including an alligator-hide wallet, work boots, baby gifts and cowboy hats.
