A pair of senators is demanding answers from the head of the Biden administration’s Office of Personnel Management about the of hiring two senior officials accused of sexual harassment in the workplace.
Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona independent who caucuses with Democrats, and James Lankford, Oklahoma Republican, want OPM Director Kiran Ahuja to pony up information about the “particularly problematic” hires in her agency, which manages the country’s more than 2 million federal civil employees.
“OPM is not just any federal agency; it is the federal agency charged with coordinating and implementing human capital management and prescribing suitability, fitness, and credentialing standards for Federal employment,” Ms. Sinema and Mr. Lankford said in a letter to Ms. Ahuja, according to The Washington Post.
They went on to say that given their relevant subcommittee roles “ensuring 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 appropriate questions regarding whether OPM is failing to serve as a role model on matters of employee vetting and workplace safety.”
The two high-profile hires were Douglas Glenn, who is accused of sexual and racial harassment as the former Defense Department acting comptroller, and Frederick Tombar III, who is accused of misconduct with subordinates as the former executive director of the Louisiana Housing Corporation.
Both men have denied the allegations.
Mr. Glenn has been forced from his position as OPM chief financial officer, but Mr. Tombar reportedly remains on the job as the No. 2 official overseeing the agency’s retirement services, according to The Post.
Ms. Ahuja is set to be grilled next week before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee about this and other issues.
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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