Sen. John Kennedy on Thursday pressed Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su to deal with “creepy old men” at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) after scathing findings of a sexual misconduct investigation were released earlier this week.
During a Senate hearing on the Labor Department’s fiscal year 2025 budget, Su refused to call on FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg to resign or commit to investigating more than 500 complaints of workplace bullying, racial discrimination and sexual harassment.
Su, who has yet to be confirmed by the Senate as a member of President Biden’s cabinet, admitted that she had not even heard of the independent report by the New York law firm Cleary Gottlieb into misconduct.
“The people who produced the report, Madam Acting Secretary — and I’m surprised you didn’t follow up on it — asked agency employees to make complaints by phone,” Kennedy (R-La.) informed Su in his signature.
“There are 6,000 employees – 500, almost one in 10 employees, complain by phone,” he emphasized.
“Many of them were sexual complaints, complaints of sexual discrimination; one young woman said: ‘My supervisor keeps sending me text messages with photos of his penis’ Kennedy is dead. “Is it an employment violation?”
“I mean, it’s terrible,” Su replied, before saying whether the behavior violated labor law was a “technical question.”
Kennedy, 72, went on to describe other horrific cases of sexual harassment and racial discrimination, including a Hispanic employee who was forced by his superior to recite the Pledge of Allegiance to prove he was American.
“One young woman said, ‘My supervisor sent me a text message that said, quote, ‘Strip naked, cu—-,'” the senator said of another claim, stunning both Su and hearing viewers.
“I certainly think it’s unacceptable behavior in the workplace,” said Su, who also called the harassment “disgusting.”
She noted that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reviews workplace sexual harassment complaints, but said the duty to protect workers could fall under the Department of Labor’s jurisdiction.
“You can file a complaint – you’re the secretary of labor. And I know from your behavior that you believe in protecting employees,” Kennedy replied.
“This is as outrageous as I’ve ever seen,” he added. “I thought we had already decided this was not a land for creepy old men.”
Gruenberg called the report “sobering” in a statement after its release before admitting he was “ultimately responsible” for misconduct that occurred during his nearly two decades in office and vowing to implement its recommendations.
Republicans like House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry of North Carolina have since called on him to resign, while Democrats like Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown of Ohio have called on him to “accept responsibility and … immediately work on fundamental changes in the agency and its culture.”
Su promised to “make sure the EEOC is aware” of the complaints.
“Many supervisors and some members of the FDIC’s senior leadership are pigs; they are sexual predators; they’re bigots,” Kennedy pressed Su.
“This problem has been going on for some time since the Wall Street Journal published the story, at least six months, and so far the Department of Labor has said nothing, zero, nothing, nothing.”