Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer threw herself a birthday party at the department’s headquarters this week, reportedly sparking anger among labor employees already on edge about DOGE cuts.
Photos from the self-indulgent party shared with The Bulwark reportedly show a large room filled with cocktail tables, wine, and multiple TVs featuring Chavez-DeRemer’s face.
According to the outlet, her celebration did not sit well with some labor employees, who have faced cuts to the department and fear further reductions under the direction of billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The same week their new boss hosted the office party celebrating her 57th birthday, the Associated Press reported that DOGE slashed around $500 million in international grants aimed at combating child labor worldwide.
DOGE is also seeking to cancel 96 agency contracts for trainings, software, and other services, according to Bloomberg, and looks to shut down 87 DOL offices across the country, potentially impacting the department’s ability to enforce federal labor laws meant to protect workers’ rights.
“What you’re going to see is lower inspection numbers for the same amount of work, less innovation, less proactive activity,” Doug Parker, the head of the DOL’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration under Biden, told Bloomberg.
“And unfortunately, in time, you’re going to see more workers getting killed and injured, because the deterrent effect will be lessened.”
Chavez-DeRemer was appointed to her position by President Donald Trump and confirmed in a bipartisan Senate vote in March, with support from 17 Democrats. She previously served as a representative for Oregon from 2023 to 2025.
She has fully embraced Musk and Trump’s destructive cost-cutting rampage, boasting about terminating foreign aid grants in an Instagram video.
“I’ve instructed my team here at Labor to find more opportunities to save you money. I’ll keep fighting to put the American worker first by getting rid of waste, fraud, and abuse,” she said, echoing Musk’s rhetoric about widespread waste and fraud—claims he has used to justify the drastic cuts to federal programs and workers.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Chavez-DeRemer for comment but did not hear back in time of publication.
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