The House Financial Services Committee announced that Rep. Andy Barr (KY-06), chairman of the Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy Subcommittee, and Rep. Bill Huizenga (MI-04), chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, are demanding that Martin Gruenberg, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) chair, recuse himself from the Committee on Financial Services’ independent investigation into alleged sexual harassment, misogyny and other misconduct at the agency.
According to a Nov. 22 Financial Services Committee press release, Barr and Huizenga made their demands in separate letters sent to Gruenberg on Nov. 21.
“Last week the Wall Street Journal published disturbing allegations regarding your behavior and the workplace culture at Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) under your leadership,” Huizenga wrote in his letter. “The reports allege that the agency has maintained a culture that perpetuates sexual harassment, misogyny, and other acts of misconduct. …The reports also allege that members of your senior leadership team have exhibited discrimination and hostile conduct. I am concerned that the alleged, long-standing culture of inappropriate behavior originates from you and your leadership of the agency.”
“Your conspiracy to engineer a coup against your predecessor, a first-generation immigrant woman, amplified and reinforced a culture of workplace hostility toward women,” Barr wrote in his letter. “The hostility of those actions undertaken by you and fellow Democrat-appointed regulatory officials sent a clear signal throughout the FDIC that diversity, equity, and inclusion can and will be abandoned in favor of self-interest.”
“I write to ask that you recuse yourself from any oversight or control over any investigation that you may have initiated or organized with an “independent” outside entity. I further ask that: 1) the terms, conditions, work plan, and work parameters associated with any independent outside investigation of the FDIC’s toxic workplace initiated by the FDIC be provided to Congress; and 2) the full Board be responsible for overseeing the outside entity’s investigation,” Barr said.
Under Rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Financial Services has jurisdiction to oversee FDIC activities, according to Huizenga’s letter.