Top Republican on Senate Banking Committee Seeks Probe Into Potential Civil Service Violations by Biden Administration

Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA), Ranking Member on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, is seeking a probe into potential civil service violations being committed by the Biden administration, specifically at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

In a June 17, 2021 letter to Mark Bialek, Inspector General for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and CFPB, Senator Toomey expressed concerns with the Biden administration’s efforts to “clean house,” push out top career civil servants, and replace them with “hand-picked loyalists.”

Several current and former employees at CFPB shared that the Biden team was attempting to push out career civil servants due to their connection with the Trump administration, as first reported by Government Executive. Methods to get rid of these employees reportedly included appealing separation packages and “placing employees on administrative leave after opening up frivolous investigations against them,” as stated by Senator Toomey based on allegations by various CFPB employees.

In his letter, Senator Toomey explained, “In light of the seriousness of the allegations…as well as the implication that these actions may have been undertaken to provide the administration’s nominee for director of the CFPB, Rohit Chopra, with the opportunity to hire a hand-picked team of loyalists for senior positions, I request that your office promptly review the allegations.” If the allegations are credible, Senator Toomey requests a thorough investigation into whether officials at the CFPB or other federal officials violated any laws.

A former CFPB employee told GovExec, “It’s very clear what’s happening—it’s forcing people out who are not political actors. This is being done in a pretty underhanded way and, frankly, they are getting away with it.”