Top Democrat calls for Biden to replace FDIC chairman to fix agency's 'toxic culture'

The most powerful Democrat in Congress on banking and financial issues called for President Joe Biden to replace the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Monday, saying the agency is broken and there must be “fundamental changes at the FDIC.”

This follows a damning report about the agency’s toxic workplace culture was released earlier this month and the inability of FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg to convince Congress in testimony last week that he is able to turn the agency around despite the report saying Greunberg himself was often the source of the problems.

“After chairing last week’s hearing, reviewing the independent report, and receiving further outreach from FDIC employees to the Banking and Housing Committee, I am left with one conclusion: there must be fundamental changes at the FDIC,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.

Up until Monday, no Democrats had called for Gruenberg's replacement, although several came very close to doing so in their own statements. Brown's statement will likely lead to other Democrats to now call for Gruenberg's removal.

In his statement, Brown did not call for Gruenberg to be fired. He is in the middle of his six-year term as chairman of the FDIC and if Gruenberg were to step down, Vice Chair Travis Hill, a Republican, would lead the agency. Brown instead called on President Biden to nominate a new chair for the FDIC “without delay,” which the Senate would then confirm.

Republicans have been calling for Gruenberg to step down for some time. At Thursday’s hearing, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. and the top Republican on the committee, detailed several stories of female FDIC workers who outlined extreme harassment and stalking by their