POLITICS, PUBLIC SAFETY

Oregon Rep. Chavez-DeRemer, Trump’s pick for labor secretary, says she received bomb threat

The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Wednesday that it responded to a threat against U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, an Oregon Republican selected by president-elect Donald Trump to lead the federal Department of Labor.

Chavez-DeRemer tweeted that she received a pipe bomb threat on Tuesday at her Happy Valley home, and that she and her family were safe. 

“This kind of violence harms not just the intended targets but entire communities,” she tweeted. “It is an unacceptable way to express opposition, and it will not deter President Trump and the team he has assembled from doing the work on behalf of the American people.” 

A spokesman for the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the office responded to a threat and that the FBI is handling an investigation, but declined to answer other questions. A spokesman for Chavez-DeRemer did not immediately respond to questions. 

The FBI said in a statement that it was aware of “numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting incoming administration nominees and appointees.”

“We take all potential threats seriously and, as always, encourage members of the public to immediately report anything they consider suspicious to law enforcement,” the statement continued. 

Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that several officials received “violent, un-American” threats ranging from bomb threats to “swatting,” a term that describes prank calls intended to cause a large number of heavily armed police officers to show up at an address to respond to a non-existent threat. 

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican and Trump’s pick for ambassador to the United Nations, also reported receiving a bomb threat at her home. Former U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, another New York Republican tapped to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, said on X that he was a victim of a “pipe bomb threat” with a “pro-Palestinian themed message.” 

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Julia Shumway is deputy editor of Oregon Capital Chronicle and has reported on government and politics in Iowa and Nebraska, spent time at the Bend Bulletin and most recently was a legislative reporter for the Arizona Capitol Times in Phoenix. An award-winning journalist, Julia most recently reported on the tangled efforts to audit the presidential results in Arizona.