President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats would face steep hurdles if they were to replace Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chairman Martin Gruenberg in the wake of an explosive report that detailed “abusive” and “unprofessional conduct” at the agency under his watch.
Senior Republicans, including House Republican Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN), House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-NC), and Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Tim Scott (R-SC) have called on Gruenberg to resign after an independent review found that the FDIC’s working environment was “hostile, abusive, and unprofessional.”
The Associated Press reported:
The incidents span from field offices to headquarters in Washington, and “arose within a workplace culture that is ‘misogynistic,’ ‘patriarchal,’ ‘insular,’ and ‘outdated’ — a ‘good ol’ boys’ club where favoritism is common, wagons are circled around managers, and senior executives with well-known reputations for pursuing romantic relations with subordinates enjoy long careers without any apparent consequence,” the report states.
More than 500 workers reported incidents of harassment, discrimination and other issues.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) notably did urge Gruenberg to resign; he only called on the embattled FDIC leader to “work to make fundamental changes to the agency and its culture.”
Many in Washington have speculated about how Senate Democrats, who have a razor-thin majority, could replace Gruenberg if they want to “try to salvage Democrats’ financial policy agenda.”
Although the chair of the FDIC is technically an “independent” position, it has become more partisan over the years. And if Democrats were to confirm another FDIC chair, that individual could serve for only two months if former President Donald Trump wins the White House in November.
Punchbowl News reported that potential nominees could include:
New York Department of Financial Services Superintendent Adrienne Harris, former Deputy Director of the White House National Economic Council Bharat Ramamurti, former Assistant Treasury Secretary for Financial Institutions Graham Steele and University of California-Irvine Professor Mehrsa Baradaran.
“If Democrats want to finish much of their financial agenda this year, they might have to hope Gruenberg can hang on tight,” Punchbowl News added.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.