Copyright Baton Rouge Advocate
WASHINGTON – Republican U.S. Sen. John Kennedy told reporters during a Monday night press conference that he’ll continue to withhold support for President Donald Trump’s FDIC nominee until he receives an update on what has been done to improve the agency’s toxic work environment. Punchbowl, a Capitol Hill online news outlet, reported that Kennedy, of Madisonville, said he had talked with Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation chair nominee Travis Hill and was told that Hill’s still working on detailing the resolution of hundreds of complaints of sexual assault, unwanted touching, as well as racial and sexual discrimination at the agency. During a Senate hearing last week, Kennedy read from a May 2024 review by law firm Cleary Gottlieb that concluded FDIC officials allowed a culture that quashed reporting of suggestive comments and lewd photos, unwanted sexual advances and other inappropriate conduct. For instance, Kennedy noted that a supervisor requested a Hispanic employee recite the Pledge of Allegiance to prove he was an American. “Did it make you proud?” Kennedy asked Hill. “It did not,” Hill replied. Kennedy demanded a report within 30 days of Oct. 30 that detailed who had been fired, who had been prosecuted and who had been moved to different positions. “If your name came up in front of me right now, I wouldn't vote for you," Kennedy said. “It has nothing to do with your policy chops. ...I’ve had enough of this.” Kennedy has been critical of the FDIC’s handling of reports of the toxic work environment long before the Gottlieb Steen analysis was released and has proposed corrective legislation. Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, R-South Carolina, noted that bipartisan opposition of Hill’s nomination increased since he was tapped by Trump to step up from a deputy’s position to lead the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which insures deposits and supervises bank operations. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, noted that Hill had been appointed to an internal committee overseeing the allegations. But since becoming the acting FDIC director in January, she said, Hill hadn’t responded to her requests for information. “Reforming the culture continues to be a top priority,” Hill said. A simple majority of the Republican-dominated Banking committee is necessary to recommend Hill be confirmed by the full Senate.
