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Senators are criticizing the Biden official after it was discovered that two high-level employees had been forced out of their previous jobs for sexual harassment, one of whom paid an $89,500 settlement to the victim.
- Two senior officials from the federal government’s Office of Personnel Management were hired despite documented histories of sexual harassment.
- On Wednesday, Senators Sinema and Lankford sent a letter to OPM Director Kiran Ahuja, calling senior hiring “particularly problematic.”
- OPM Director Kiran Ahuja has been called to testify before the House Oversight Committee regarding her agency’s hiring practices.
Senate leaders have placed heavy pressure on the head of the federal government’s Office of Personnel Management after two senior employees were found to have substantial histories of sexual misconduct while in previous positions.
On Wednesday, Sens. Krysten Sinema, D-Ariz., and James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, sent a letter to OPM Director Kiran Ahuja, calling senior hiring “particularly problematic.”
The couple demanded details of Ahuja’s agency’s vetting practice for new hires.
The two employees in question are Frederick Tombar III and Douglas Glenn, who previously left their positions amid or after investigations into harassing behavior at their respective workplaces.
Douglas Glenn was forced to leave OPM earlier this year after a Pentagon investigation found he had behaved in a sexually and racially offensive manner during his tenure as the department’s acting comptroller.
Frederick Tombar resigned as CEO of Louisiana Housing Corporation amid an investigation that concluded he harassed two subordinates
Glenn was forced out of his position as OPM’s chief financial officer days after a Pentagon investigation found he had engaged in sexually and racially offensive ways during his tenure as acting comptroller of the Department of Defense.
Glenn denied the findings of the investigation.
In 2015, Tombar resigned from his position as CEO of the Louisiana Housing Corporation amid an investigation that concluded that he harassed two subordinates.
Tombar denied the allegations, though Louisiana officials ultimately paid nearly $90,000 to one of his accusers who sued the state.
Okay, the Washington PostHe remains on the job at OPM, where he serves as a senior leader in the retirement services division.
“Given the Subcommittee’s longstanding commitment to ensuring that the Federal Government is free from racial or sexual insensitivity, sexual harassment, or any other form of inexcusable behavior, we have a responsibility to ask the appropriate questions regarding whether OPM is not serving as a role model in matters of employee vetting and workplace safety,’ the senators wrote.
The senators also noted that the appointments of Glenn and Tombar are especially troubling given the role OPM plays in setting personnel standards for the rest of the federal government.
The letter demands to know when the misconduct allegations in both cases were reported to the department. Ahuja staff have been ordered to appear in person before senators to brief lawmakers on the details of how Glenn and Tombar were hired.
Kiran Ahuja serves as Director of the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
Arizona Senator Krysten Sinema, who along with Oklahoma Senator James Lankford sent a letter to OPM Director Kiran Ahuja calling senior staffing “particularly problematic.”
The senators noted that the appointments of Glenn and Tombar are especially troubling given the role OPM plays in setting personnel standards for the rest of the federal government.
Ahuja has also been called to appear before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee next week, where she will likely face a barrage of questions from lawmakers about the department’s questionable hiring as part of a wide-ranging hearing on federal labor issues.
OPM has so far refused to comment publicly on the circumstances surrounding the hiring of each official. Although he did confirm to the Post that he had launched an internal review of his hiring practices.
OPM is responsible for managing the federal government’s civil service of 2.1 million people, including coordinating recruitment and hiring, as well as managing benefits administration for 2.7 million retired federal employees.