NEW YORK (AP) – The White House announced Monday that the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is resigning, a resignation that follows a censure announcement earlier this month. A report on toxic workplace cultures in government agencies.
The White House announced that Martin Gruenberg will step down once a replacement has been appointed and that President Joe Biden will name a replacement “immediately.” The announcement came after the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee called for Gruenberg’s removal early Monday.
Deputy Press Secretary Sam Michel said in a statement that Biden expects the FDIC to “reflect values of decency and integrity and protect the rights and dignity of all employees.”
The FDIC is one of several banking system regulators in the United States. The Great Depression-era government agency is best known for running the nation’s deposit insurance program, which insures Americans’ deposits up to $250,000 in the event of a bank failure.
By Monday, no Democratic senators had called for Mr. Gruenberg’s ouster, but several had come close to doing so. But Sen. Sherrod Brown, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee and facing a tough re-election battle, issued a statement Monday calling for Gruenberg’s resignation, saying he no longer trusts his leadership at the FDIC. did.
Grünberg is Baked for two days A hearing held on Capitol Hill last week focused primarily on the FDIC’s workplace culture and the failures revealed in a report prepared by an outside law firm.
“After chairing last week’s hearing, reviewing the independent report, and receiving additional support from FDIC staff to the Banking and Housing Committee, I am left with one conclusion,” Brown said in a statement. “Fundamental changes are needed at the FDIC.”
Republicans have long called for Gruenberg to step down and criticized the White House for not demanding his immediate departure.
Mr. Gruenberg has served in leadership positions at various levels of the FDIC for nearly 20 years, and this is his second term as FDIC Chairman. Because of his long tenure at the agency, he is primarily responsible for the agency’s toxic working environment, according to an independent report outlining the agency’s problems.
Report released on Tuesday Law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has cited more than 500 complaints from employees citing incidents of stalking, harassment, homophobia and other violations of work rules.
Among the complaints were women who said they were stalked by a co-worker and continued harassment after complaining about their co-worker’s behavior. A field office supervisor calls a gay man a “little girl.” The female scene investigator said she received a photo of the FDIC senior investigator’s private parts.
____
Associated Press Treasury reporter Fatima Hussein contributed to this report from Washington.