McHenry Demands Disgraced FDIC Chair Gruenberg Comply with Congressional Oversight, Schedule Transcribed Interview Immediately
Also requests transcribed interviews with FDIC General Counsel and Director of Legislative Affairs
Washington,
October 16, 2024 -
Today, the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Patrick McHenry (NC-10), sent a letter to disgraced Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chair Martin Gruenberg demanding he schedule a transcribed interview with the Committee by 5:00 PM today. Chairman McHenry is also requesting transcribed interviews with the agency’s General Counsel and Director of Legislative Affairs to discuss the FDIC’s process for indemnification for private counsel, which has been cited as an excuse to slow walk Republicans’ oversight requests.
This follows Chair Gruenberg’s repeated failure to comply with routine Congressional oversight regarding his own misconduct and the FDIC’s broader toxic workplace culture—including continued refusal to appear for hearings and transcribed interviews. Instead of being transparent with Congress or addressing the promised cultural transformation at the FDIC, Chair Gruenberg has continued to pursue his own progressive policy agenda.
Read the letter to disgraced FDIC Chair Gruenberg here or below:
“Dear Chairman Gruenberg:
“I write in regard to your repeated failure to set aside partisan priorities and to ensure you follow through on your commitment to be transparent with the House Committee on Financial Services (Committee) about your effort to remedy long standing harassment, including your own, and toxicity in the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)’s workplace. Your continued obstruction in scheduling a transcribed interview with the Committee is unacceptable and unfitting for someone in your position.
“Since November 2023, the Committee has been investigating the allegations of the toxic workplace culture and misconduct at the FDIC. Despite the Committee’s ongoing efforts, your cooperation has been minimal at best. In the last eleven months, the Committee has held hearings, conducted transcribed interviews, and requested documents from your agency as part of our investigation. In that timeframe, we have heard directly from you only three times – the most recent being before the Committee at a hearing on May 15, 2024.
“During that hearing, you claimed that your goal was to ‘create a workplace where every employee feels safe, valued, and respected.’ However, rather than address the toxic workplace culture at the FDIC or being transparent with Congress, you have instead spent the last five months focused on pursuing your own policy agenda to the detriment of the financial system. In fact, you have introduced more proposals in the last several Board meetings than at any other point during your tenure under the Biden-Harris Administration.
“Unfortunately for FDIC employees, very few of your proposals address the promised cultural transformation or the prevention of harassment and misconduct at the FDIC. In fact, you have only made one public statement addressing workplace safety measure initiatives for FDIC employees since announcing your resignation. Your limited focus stands in stark contrast to your previous claims of being uniquely qualified to oversee the cultural transformation Action Plan.
“It has not gone unnoticed that you refuse to engage in a transparent dialogue with Congress on critical cultural changes required at the FDIC. On August 14, 2024, Committee Republicans requested that you appear on September 19, 2024, to provide answers about the FDIC’s implementation of the Cleary Gottlieb recommendations.7 Despite having over one month to prepare for that hearing, you refused to appear.
“In lieu of your appearance before the Committee, on September 11, 2024, I requested that you schedule a voluntary transcribed interview with the Committee to occur by September 30, 2024.8 In the last month, you have slow walked my request. You have hidden behind agency processes to obstruct the Committee’s investigation. For those reasons, please make both your Director of Legislative Affairs and General Counsel available to the Committee for transcribed interviews on Monday, October 21, 2024 at 10:00 am. Both individuals should be prepared to discuss the FDIC’s process for indemnification for private counsel. Finally, your interview should be scheduled no later than by 5:00 pm today. I expect your full and timely cooperation.”
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