Dr. Shawn DeRemer, the 57-year-old husband of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, has been barred from entering the Department of Labor headquarters in Washington, D.C., after at least two female staffers accused him of sexual assault inside the building. A police report was filed with the Metropolitan Police Department on January 24, and the case is being investigated as misdemeanor sexual abuse.

A building restriction notice reviewed by the New York Times was blunt:

"If Mr. DeRemer attempts to enter, he is to be asked to leave."

The police report, obtained by the New York Post, notes that a complainant reported "sexual contact against her will" at the department's D.C. headquarters. A security camera captured an incident on December 18 in which DeRemer, a Portland-based anesthesiologist, allegedly gave a woman an extended hug during work hours. It remains unclear whether that specific event is one of the reported assaults or a separate incident.

Neither the Labor Department, Dr. DeRemer, nor a lawyer for the secretary responded to requests for comment.

A department already under siege

The allegations against Dr. DeRemer land on top of a growing pile of problems surrounding the Labor Secretary herself. The department's inspector general is already investigating Chavez-DeRemer over allegations of misconduct, and the Senate Judiciary Committee has launched its own probe.

The Post had previously reported a series of troubling claims about Chavez-DeRemer's conduct since taking office:

• She allegedly pursued an "inappropriate" relationship with a member of her security detail.
• She reportedly drank in her office during the workday.
• She is accused of "travel fraud," with her chief of staff and deputy chief of staff allegedly fabricating official trips to destinations where she could spend time with family or friends on the taxpayer's dime.
• She allegedly took staff to an Oregon strip club shortly after her Senate confirmation.

The fallout has been swift. Chief of staff Jihun Han, deputy chief of staff Rebecca Wright, and the unnamed security detail member have all been placed on administrative leave.

The conservative case for accountability

There is no conservative principle that requires circling the wagons around behavior like this. If even half of what has been reported holds up under investigation, it paints a picture of a cabinet office operating with a culture of casual impunity that would make any bureaucratic swamp creature blush.

Conservatives have spent years arguing, correctly, that government officials are stewards of public trust and public money. That standard doesn't flex based on which party holds the office. Travel fraud is theft from taxpayers. Drinking on the job at a federal agency is dereliction. And allowing a spouse to allegedly assault staffers inside a government building is a failure of the most basic duty any leader holds: protecting the people who work for them.

The silence from all parties involved is notable. No denial. No explanation. No expression of concern for the women who came forward. Silence is sometimes a legal strategy. It is never leadership.

What happens next

The criminal investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department will proceed on its own track. The inspector general's probe into the secretary's conduct continues. And the Senate Judiciary Committee now has its own inquiry underway, which means testimony, subpoenas, and public scrutiny are all on the table.

The women who reported Dr. DeRemer's alleged conduct did so to the inspector general, which means they used the system exactly as it's designed to work. That took courage. Federal staffers who report misconduct by the powerful rarely find the process comfortable or consequence-free.

Conservatives who champion accountability in government cannot treat it as a selective principle. The same standard that demands transparency from a Biden-era bureaucrat demands it from a Trump cabinet secretary's office. The machinery of oversight exists precisely for moments like these.

Two women walked into a federal building to do their jobs. They should not have had to file a police report to feel safe there.