Watch Kennedy’s comments here.

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, today urged President Joe Biden to fire Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chair Martin Gruenberg. Kennedy argued that Gruenberg’s eventual resignation would not protect the employees who have endured persistent harassment at the agency during his tenure.

Key excerpts from Kennedy’s speech are below:

“I don’t remember seeing any exceptions in the MeToo Movement for President Biden’s appointees to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. We call it the FDIC. There’s not supposed to be a carve-out for bigots and perverts at the FDIC to harass their coworkers when they’re supposed to be regulating America’s banks. So why hasn’t President Biden shown FDIC chairman, Mr. Martin Gruenberg, and his leadership team the door? Why hasn’t he fired them?”

. . .

“Mr. Gruenberg didn’t just supervise the harassment at the FDIC. According to the report, he participated in it. According to Mr. Gruenberg’s employees, Chairman Gruenberg repeatedly ‘disrespected, disparaged, and mistreated’ his staff. Not the predators, but his staff that was trying to help him manage the agency.

“According to the report, Mr. Gruenberg would berate them, threaten to fire them, participate in ‘embarrassing and inappropriate’ group chats with them, and throw temper tantrums where he’d throw papers his staff prepared for him against the wall.”

. . .

“Mr. Gruenberg and every single member of senior management ought to hide their heads in a bag. . . .  These folks ought to quit, and they ought to quit today. And if they don’t, President Biden should fire them. Anything short of firing them will show that President Biden condones this behavior.”

. . .

“President Biden correctly said that he would fire ‘on the spot’ any appointee who disrespected other members of his staff. Those are the president’s words: ‘on the spot.’ And he told his appointees that he expected them to do the same. The evidence, Madam President, is plentiful that Chairman Gruenberg disrespected his staff and allowed a toxic culture to bloom at the FDIC.

“He should resign. He should resign immediately. It’s time to clean house at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.”

Background

• The FDIC recently published a report detailing the toxic culture that has unfolded at the agency under Chairman Gruenberg’s watch.

• More than 500 of the FDIC’s 6,000 employees reported instances of sexual harassment, racial or gender discrimination, verbal abuse or other inappropriate behavior.

• Several employees accused Gruenberg of threatening and verbally abusive conduct. Employees reported that Gruenberg has an explosive temper and often berated employees, including one instance where he threw the staff’s papers against the wall. One employee said, “In my entire career of 35 years, I’ve never had anybody treat me like that.”

• Gruenberg has been on the FDIC’s Board of Directors since August 2005. During that time, at least 92 employees reported instances of harassment or discrimination to the agency. Investigators found that the FDIC did not fire, demote or cut the pay of a single alleged harasser while Gruenberg was on the FDIC’s board.

• In 2021, Biden vowed to fire any appointee who disrespected his or her staff “on the spot.” The president also said he expects each appointee to similarly fire employees who disrespect their colleagues. Biden has not yet asked for Gruenberg’s resignation.

• Kennedy called for Gruenberg’s resignation last year when revelations of his inappropriate conduct at the FDIC broke. He penned this op-ed in The Hill urging Gruenberg to resign so a new leader could address the culture problems within the agency.

Watch Kennedy’s full speech here.