New Facts: OIG uncovers inappropriate texts by husband, father

Investigators obtained text messages involving the labor secretary’s family and young staffers. The secretary told aides to watch for personal messages from her husband, Dr. Shawn DeRemer, and her father, Richard Chavez. One exchange shows Richard Chavez asking a young aide last April to keep a visit private and where she was staying, and weeks later Dr. DeRemer telling the same aide he felt forgotten after she apologized for not checking in.

The messages also show staff being directed to obtain alcohol during work trips. During an official visit to Myrtle Beach in July, the secretary asked about buying bottles at a hotel bar, and in September, before 3 p.m., then–deputy chief of staff Rebecca Wright told a staffer to pick up a bottle or two for a toast when a meeting ended. The inspector general is reviewing these exchanges as part of the misconduct probe.

AI-synthesized from multiple reported sources