FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeff Hauser, [email protected]
Amid allegations that FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg failed to confront workplace abuses, Republicans demanded new leadership at the agency. They have since been given a viable path to remove Gruenberg. And yet, rather than pushing for the swift confirmation of CFTC Commissioner Christy Goldsmith-Romero, who has been nominated to lead the FDIC, they continue to urge Gruenberg to resign—unnecessarily keeping him in place.
In response, Demand Progress Corporate Power Director Emily Peterson-Cassin issued the following statement: “We heard again and again that Martin Gruenberg should be replaced, so now that there’s a path to that outcome where did those voices go? The GOP’s ongoing refusal to prioritize Christy Goldsmith-Romero’s confirmation keeps Gruenberg, clearly unfit for the job, in place while proving that the real objective was to hamstring a regulatory agency. If Republicans actually cared about fixing the FDIC’s toxic workplace culture, they would insist on hastily pursuing Goldsmith-Romero’s confirmation.”
“Faced with the prospect of having Goldsmith-Romero, an experienced public servant of unimpeachably strong character, at the helm of the FDIC, Republicans have moved the goalposts. Removing Gruenberg is no longer enough,” said Revolving Door Project Executive Director Jeff Hauser. “They want him to resign before his successor is greenlit, because then the agency would be run by a Republican acting chair. But if Republicans have ever been genuinely concerned about the well-being of FDIC workers, they would be clamoring for the immediate confirmation of Goldsmith-Romero since that’s the most direct route to getting rid of Gruenberg.”
“If they don’t, it calls into question whether Senate Republicans should ever be taken seriously when they proclaim motives other than serving their Wall Street donors,” Hauser added. “This hypocrisy underscores the cynicism underlying Republicans’ decision to tap Cleary Gottlieb Steen, a GOP-linked Big Law firm with loads of bank clients, to conduct the investigation into alleged workplace misconduct at the FDIC. The firm’s decision to largely ignore how Republican FDIC leaders contributed to the yearslong problem makes it look as though the goal of the report was to crush proposed reforms to the banking system, including the Basel III agreement, and to engineer a GOP takeover of the agency.”
Background and Timeline
On May 7, 2024, after the Special Review Committee of the Board of Directors of the FDIC released a 234-page report that details allegations of workplace misconduct, including rampant sexual harassment, going unpunished for years at the FDIC, congressional Republicans demanded that FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg resign.
- House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) said that “it’s time for Chair Gruenberg to step aside. The independent report released today details his inexcusable behavior and makes clear new leadership is needed at the FDIC.” The agency’s “toxic workplace culture… must be overhauled,” he added.
- According to Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Tim Scott (R-S.C.): “It’s clear the FDIC, its mission, and most importantly, its employees, have all suffered under Chairman Gruenberg’s leadership—this report underscores that fact. It’s time for Chairman Gruenberg to resign so the FDIC can move forward with the leadership it deserves and desperately needs to ensure employees and the important work of this agency are supported.”
On May 20, Gruenberg announced, “I am prepared to step down from my responsibilities once a successor is confirmed.” On June 13, the Biden White House nominated CFTC Commissioner Christy Goldsmith-Romero to be chair of the FDIC. The Senate Banking Committee held Goldsmith-Romero’s confirmation hearing on July 11. Reporting suggested that the hearing went well for Goldsmith-Romero, who has already been unanimously confirmed by the Senate on two previous occasions.
In short, Republicans have been given a viable path to remove Gruenberg. But instead of advocating for the swift confirmation of Goldsmith-Romero, they continue to urge Gruenberg to resign.
- Following the publication of the FDIC Office of Inspector General’s report on the agency’s failure to implement an effective sexual harassment prevention program, Scott on August 1 reiterated his call for the FDIC chair to quit. He added that “Gruenberg, the Biden administration, and their Democratic allies seem to care more about their progressive regulatory agenda than protecting workers.”
Gruenberg needs to go. The fastest way to make that happen is to confirm Goldsmith-Romero.
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