Senate Banking Chair Sherrod Brown calls for new FDIC leadership after misconduct report

• Sen. Sherrod Brown on Monday called on President Joe Biden to replace Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Martin Gruenberg.
• The call for new leadership comes after a scathing report detailed a culture of sexual harassment, discrimination and misconduct at the FDIC.
• If Gruenberg were to leave the agency before a replacement is confirmed, the FDIC's board of directors would be politically deadlocked, jeopardizing the Biden administration's financial reform agenda.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, on Monday called on President Joe Biden to replace Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Martin Gruenberg after allegations of widespread sexual harassment and misconduct within the agency.

There "must be fundamental changes at the FDIC," Brown, who chairs the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, said in a statement. "Those changes begin with new leadership, who must fix the agency's toxic culture and put the women and men who work there – and their mission – first."

"That's why I'm calling on the President to immediately nominate a new Chair who can lead the FDIC at this challenging time and for the Senate to act on that nomination without delay," Brown continued.

With his statement, Brown broke from fellow Democrats, who have largely condemned the allegations but refrained from pushing for Gruenberg's resignation, instead calling for him to drive changes at the agency. Brown's statement could signal the beginning of the end for the FDIC's top regulator, who was nominated for the position in 2022 by Biden.

Law firm Cleary Gottlieb in April released a scathing report detailing an alleged culture of "sexual harassment, discrimination, and other interpersonal misconduct" at the FDIC.

The 174-page