Following Months of Silence, Scott Renews Demands for Information from FDIC
After promising transparency, Chairman Gruenberg has yet to respond to the Ranking Member’s requests for information regarding allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination, and other workplace misconduct
Washington, D.C. – Ranking Member Tim Scott (R-S.C.) is renewing his demands for information from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) regarding allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination, and other workplace misconduct at the agency. Last December, Ranking Member Scott led fellow Banking Committee Republicans in calling on FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg to provide detailed information regarding the recent allegations, and to resign as Chairman and Board Member. More than three months after this request, and over 65 days past the deadline to provide information, the Ranking Member has yet to receive a response.
In a letter to FDIC Chairman Gruenberg, Ranking Member Scott wrote, “Your decision to disregard a Congressional inquiry regarding credible claims of harassment and a hostile workplace environment that reportedly occurred under your leadership is completely unacceptable. It also demonstrates a concerning lack of transparency and disregard for Congressional oversight. Moreover, your failure to respond and comply with this straightforward request shows an unwillingness to ensure accountability at the agency you lead.”
The letter reiterates calls from the December letter for Chairman Gruenberg to inform FDIC employees that they may confidentially contact Ranking Member Scott’s Committee staff if they desire to make a protected disclosure of information regarding waste, fraud, or abuse – including, but not limited to, sexual harassment or discrimination – or any other misconduct occurring at the FDIC. To share such information, FDIC employees may email RepWhistleblowers@banking.senate.gov or call 202-224-4287.
To read the full letter, click here.
BACKGROUND:
Following the initial reports of sexual harassment and a toxic workplace culture at the FDIC, Ranking Member Scott released a statement promising to “continue to conduct rigorous oversight of the FDIC to ensure these problems are addressed, bad actors are held accountable, and a respectable office culture is restored at the agency.” In December, the Ranking Member led fellow Banking Committee Republicans in calling on Chairman Martin Gruenberg to provide detailed information regarding the recent allegations of a toxic workplace culture and to resign as Chairman and Board Member.
In April 2022, Senator Scott and then-Ranking Member Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) wrote to then-Acting Chairman Martin Gruenberg regarding troubling allegations of racial discrimination and fears of retaliation at the FDIC under his previous leadership of the agency. On September 17, 2018, a group of African American employees wrote to former FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams to express their concerns about the FDIC’s culture over the prior 14 years—much of which occurred under Acting Chairman Gruenberg’s prior stint as FDIC Chairman. The letter sought to understand how the agency functioned prior to the changes McWilliams implemented to prevent a reoccurrence of the culture of discrimination that existed under Mr. Gruenberg’s previous tenure as Chairman. Senators Scott and Toomey requested that the FDIC turn over all records pertaining to allegations of workplace misconduct by senior officials, as well as any corrective or disciplinary actions related to those complaints, from November 2004 to September 2018. In a response, Gruenberg declined to provide the records, citing privilege and privacy considerations and instead described, among other things, his efforts to bolster diversity programs at the agency.
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