WASHINGTON — A fourth employee has left the Department of Labor after being sidelined amid a sprawling watchdog probe of Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer involving alleged travel fraud and other misconduct, The Post has learned.
Melissa Robey, who served as director of advance in the secretary’s office, was fired on Tuesday at the prompting of the White House, sources said, making her the latest DOL aide in the secretary’s office to exit during the inspector general’s investigation.
On March 4, Robey was put on administrative leave following allegations that she misused taxpayer dollars for official travel — one day after Chavez-DeRemer’s top aides resigned from their positions while facing similar allegations.
Investigators gathered sufficient evidence of the “toxic” workplace created by the pair, including verbal abuse of staffers and waste of departmental resources on personal travel, sources noted.
People familiar with the probe added that Robey also had excessive travel-related expenditures.
The senior aides, chief of staff Jihun Han and deputy Rebecca Wright, were also accused of fostering a “hostile” work environment with Chavez-DeRemer, 57, and committing “travel fraud” by helping “make up” official trips to destinations where the secretary could spend personal time on the taxpayers’ dime
Additionally, Brian Sloan, a bodyguard on the Cabinet official’s security detail, was sidelined on Jan. 16, following allegations of having an extramarital affair with Chavez-DeRemer. He resigned earlier this month.
Since January, Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito’s office has been probing allegations of misconduct — which were first exposed by The Post — that also claimed the labor secretary was abusing her position and even drinking in her office during the workday.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who chairs the Judiciary Committee, has also demanded information about the alleged sexual and workplace misconduct — including evidence that the secretary allegedly took subordinates to an Oregon strip club shortly after she was confirmed by the Senate in April 2025.
The White House has stood by the secretary throughout the investigation, with President Trump frequently congratulating Chavez-DeRemer for her work at DOL in public events.
Han and Wright had worked for her in the House when she served as a House Republican representing Oregon’s 5th Congressional District from 2023 to 2025.
The Treasury Department had to pay out nearly $100,000 in taxpayer-appropriated funding last year to settle an employment discrimination claim stemming from Chavez-DeRemer’s congressional office — the highest sum recorded since 2019.
“It is the policy of the Department of Labor not to comment on personnel matters,” a DOL spokesperson said.
Robey and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
