McHenry Statement on PCAOB Resignations Following Politicization of the Board
Washington,
August 23, 2021 -
Today, the top Republican on the House Financial Services Committee, Patrick McHenry (NC-10), released a statement following the resignation of Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) members Rebekah Jurata and Megan Zietsman. The departures follow Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler’s politically motivated move to terminate former PCAOB Chair William Duhnke and replace the entire Board.
“I want to thank Rebekah Jurata and Megan Zietsman for their service as Board members of the PCAOB,” said Republican Leader McHenry. “It’s unfortunate that these public servants feel they cannot serve out the remaining years left on their terms at the PCAOB. This is a result of Chairman Gensler’s unprecedented and seemingly unjustified politicization of the PCAOB. It is increasingly clear that the PCAOB will simply follow Chairman Gensler’s desires going forward, which calls into question why the PCAOB should stand alone as a separate entity from the Commission after Ms. Jurata and Ms. Zietsman depart.”
Background:
In June, Republican Leader McHenry called out the blatant politicization of the PCAOB by Chairman Gensler. The following week, Congressman McHenry announcedan investigation into the actions taken by the SEC Chair and instructed the Commission and PCAOB to preserve all documents regarding the unprecedented move. He also demanded the public release of the report on PCAOB’s governance practices prepared by former SEC Chair Harvey Pitt.
Later that month, Ranking Member McHenry secured the release of the taxpayer-funded report and further requested the specific documents and communications regarding the SEC’s politically motivated action to terminate former Chair Duhnke and replace the entire Board. To date, Chairman Gensler has not provided the Committee with the requested documents.
