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Labor Secretary Chavez-DeRemer Resigns

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Labor Secretary Chavez-DeRemer Resigns

US Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer has resigned from the Trump administration amid an active inspector general investigation into misconduct allegations, making her the third cabinet member to depart during the president’s second term.

Summary

  • Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned on April 21 amid an inspector general investigation into alleged travel fraud, an inappropriate relationship with a security staffer, and other misconduct.
  • Deputy Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling has been named acting secretary while Trump’s team determines a permanent replacement.
  • Her departure is the third cabinet exit of Trump’s second term, following former Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem and former Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Lori Chavez-DeRemer stepped down as US Secretary of Labor on April 21, with the White House announcing she would be moving to the private sector. NBC News reported that Chavez-DeRemer had been facing a probe from the Labor Department’s inspector general over allegations including travel fraud, an alleged affair with a member of her security team, and other conduct concerns. Her attorney said the resignation “is not the result of legal wrongdoings” and described it as a personal decision.

Labor Secretary Resignation Adds to Trump’s Cabinet Instability

The inspector general investigation had already claimed multiple senior Labor Department staffers, with Chavez-DeRemer’s chief of staff and deputy chief of staff both leaving in March after being placed on administrative leave. A formal interview between Chavez-DeRemer and the inspector general’s office had been scheduled for the week of her resignation, according to NBC News. Chavez-DeRemer pushed back against the circumstances of her departure in an X post on Monday, writing that the allegations against her “have been peddled by high-ranked deep state actors” coordinating with media to undermine Trump’s agenda. White House communications director Steven Cheung said she “has done a phenomenal job in her role by protecting American workers.”

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Sonderling Steps In as Acting Secretary

Deputy Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, who had already been running much of the department’s day-to-day operations, has been named acting secretary. Sonderling has been a central figure in the administration’s push to open 401k retirement plans to alternative assets including digital assets. The White House had previously cleared a Labor Department rule proposal that could expand crypto access in retirement plans, a process Sonderling is expected to continue overseeing. The Trump administration’s executive order directing the Labor Department to reassess restrictions on alternative assets in defined-contribution plans remains active, and the department had already withdrawn the Biden-era guidance that urged fiduciaries to exercise extreme caution around crypto in 401k portfolios.

The Broader Pattern of Cabinet Departures

Chavez-DeRemer’s exit follows those of former Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem, who was fired in March after criticism over immigration enforcement, and former Attorney General Pam Bondi, who left the following month amid frustration over her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. All three departing secretaries were women. The pace of senior departures adds pressure on the administration heading into the 2026 midterm cycle, and raises questions about stability within departments managing significant regulatory agendas. The Labor Department’s role in shaping crypto-accessible retirement investment rules means Sonderling’s leadership there carries direct implications for the digital asset industry, as the 401k rule heads toward its public comment period.

Trump has not yet indicated who he intends to nominate as a permanent replacement for Chavez-DeRemer at the Labor Department.

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Crypto World

New York, Illinois Ban Officials From Prediction Markets

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New York, Illinois Ban Officials From Prediction Markets

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed an executive order banning state employees from betting on prediction markets, following a similar move by Illinois earlier this week.

“Getting rich by betting on inside information is corruption, plain and simple,” Hochul said on Wednesday, adding: “Our actions will ensure that public servants work for the people they represent, not their own personal enrichment.”

Hochul also slammed the Trump administration and congressional Republicans for allowing an “ethical Wild West” to take hold around prediction markets without implementing any “meaningful ethical standards” to protect against insider trading.

Executive order banning New York state officials from trading on prediction markets. Source: New York State

Adoption in prediction markets is rapidly accelerating, with monthly trading volumes rising over the last seven consecutive months to an all-time high of $23.6 billion in March, with markets covering everything from sports and elections to financial results and cultural outcomes.

However, the rise has been accompanied by increasing concerns about insider trading and market manipulation.

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Illinois Governor JB Pritzker also signed an EO banning state employees from betting on prediction markets on Tuesday, stating:

“Illinois is doubling down on its commitment to a transparent and ethical government by bolstering its current state laws to prevent insider trading amid the rapid growth of online prediction markets and event-based gambling contracts.”

Insider trading accusations in prediction markets

Hochul’s EO made reference to several suspected insider trading instances involving US military action. 

One of them was a Polymarket trader who placed a low-odds bet that Nicolás Maduro would be ousted as Venezuelan president just hours before he was captured by US forces, profiting around $400,000.

Another related to suspicious trades placed on the invasion of Iran and the death of its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, in late February. 

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Hochul’s EO stated that any violation may result in dismissal and law enforcement action, and also noted that New York state employees and officers cannot assist others in profiting on confidential information through prediction markets.

Prediction markets, meanwhile, have been fighting potential insider traders their own way. 

In February, Kalshi said it banned a former contender for governor of California after he had bet $200 on his own candidacy last year.

Kalshi did not name the politician. However, details in the enforcement summary align with public posts by Kyle Langford, a former Republican turned Democrat who is now running for election to the US House representing California’s 26th Congressional District.

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Related: Charles Schwab, Citadel Securities are eying prediction markets

Kalshi faces regulators in Nevada and New York 

The latest EO adds to a wave of action from US states to attempt to police prediction markets. 

The New York State Gaming Commission sent prediction market platform Kalshi a cease-and-desist letter in October for illegally operating an unlicensed mobile sports wagering platform in the state.

Kalshi is also engaged in a court battle with the Nevada Gaming Control Board after a lower court temporarily blocked Kalshi from operating in the state, with the regulator arguing that Kalshi’s contracts facilitate unlicensed gambling. 

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Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal has predicted that the case could reach the US Supreme Court, potentially creating precedent over the regulatory treatment of prediction markets and event-based derivatives.

Magazine: How to fix suspected insider trading on Polymarket and Kalshi