John Kennedy Absolutely Tees Off On FDIC Chairman And Tells Him To His Face: 'You Ought To Resign'

  • 4 months ago
At a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Thursday, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) questioned FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg about the allegations of harassment at the FDIC.

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Transcript
00:00Senators, Senator Kennedy of Louisiana is recognized.
00:07I hope Senator Al Franken is watching today.
00:16If it weren't for double standards around this place, there wouldn't be any standards at all.
00:22Mr. Gruenberg, have you ever heard the expression, a fish rots from the head down?
00:32Yes, Senator.
00:36I understand you're, I listened carefully to your testimony. Do I understand you
00:43to assert that you're the, you believe you're the person to clean up the FDIC?
00:50I do, Senator.
00:52Do you also believe that Elvis is alive?
00:57Not to my knowledge, Senator.
01:01Do you also believe in Bigfoot?
01:04No, sir.
01:10Have you read this report?
01:12Yes, sir.
01:15You've been the chairman of the FDIC 10 of the last 13 years, haven't you?
01:19Yes, I have.
01:21And you've been there for 20 years almost, haven't you?
01:25Nearly, yes, sir.
01:27And this sleaze has been going on for decades, has it not?
01:31I think the report makes that finding, Senator.
01:34Did you read the report, the part of the report where, where one of your supervisors
01:42described one of your young female employees as being, quote,
01:48like a grizzly bear with tits, close quote?
01:53I've read the report, Senator.
01:55Did you read the part of the report where the, where one of your supervisors asked
02:04a young female employee, quote, does your husband eat you?
02:10Did you read that?
02:11I have read the report, Senator.
02:15Did, did you read the part of the report where one young employee said her supervisor
02:21sent a, sent her a text?
02:23Do you know what the text said?
02:25Quote, get naked, bitch.
02:28Did you read that?
02:29Yes, sir.
02:32Did you read the part of the report where one of your supervisors
02:35turned to one of your Hispanic employees and asked him to recite the Pledge of Allegiance
02:44to prove that he is an American?
02:48Did you read that?
02:49I read it, sir.
02:53You're not going to be able to clean up the FDIC
02:57because you're going to be too busy defending yourself in court.
03:00I'm going to introduce a bill to extend the statute of limitations
03:06to allow every employee at the FDIC to file suit over the sexual abuse
03:15and the sexual discrimination and this racism.
03:20And you're going to be spending all your time in court.
03:23Now, the, the, uh, the, the, uh, Clary Gottlieb report
03:28doesn't think you're the person to clean up the FDIC, does it?
03:34I don't know that the report reaches that conclusion,
03:36but it certainly has critical comments in regard to me, Senator.
03:38Well, I mean, the FDIC report says that, uh,
03:43it, it, it says that, uh, even your senior leaders feel quite
03:49disrespected, disparaged, and treated unfairly by you.
03:55Yeah. Did I quote that correctly?
03:57Yeah, I, I have read the report, Senator.
03:59And, and the, the Clary Gottlieb report, it goes on to say,
04:05um, that your long tenure and reputation for losing your temper and bullying people,
04:11quote, presents unique challenges to your ability to do the right thing.
04:19Close quote, for you to change the agency.
04:23Did you read that part?
04:24I have read it, Senator.
04:26And, and the Clary Gottlieb report also says,
04:30it questions whether you have the quote, moral authority to do so.
04:37Is that correct?
04:38I have read the report, Senator.
04:40Yes.
04:44You, you fixing this agency, Mr. Gruenberg?
04:49It's like asking, it's like asking Alec Baldwin to conduct a course in gun safety.
04:59You ought to be ashamed of yourself.
05:02And Mr. Sue, you ought to be ashamed of yourself for acting like a lickspittle here today,
05:08trying to defend this gentleman.
05:11Um, have you ever read a worse report, Mr. Gruenberg, in all your years?
05:23It's a bad report, Senator.
05:24Yeah, it's bad.
05:28Um, look, I, I could go through this report.
05:34I'm, I'm embarrassed to have to even read some of these, some of these allegations.
05:41Would you, would,
05:45these, these folks on the first row behind you, are they FDIC employees?
05:51Some of them are, Senator, yes.
05:53Would, would you like to turn around and apologize
05:57to the female employees sitting behind you at the FDIC?
06:01I have, Senator.
06:02Would you like to do that now?
06:04If you ask me to, I will.
06:05I think you should.
06:08I apologize.
06:11And now I think you ought to resign.
06:15I'm done, Mr. Chair.
06:18Senator Smith from Minnesota is recognized.
06:22Thank you, Mr. Chair.
06:23Um, it's ironic to me that my Republic

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