Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana has never been one to mince words. But even by his standards, his latest outburst — “This is no country for creepy old men” — landed like a thunderclap across Washington.
The remark came as Kennedy announced his long-anticipated support for Travis Hill, President Biden’s nominee to chair the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). For weeks, Kennedy had withheld his endorsement, demanding accountability from the agency over a string of sexual harassment and misconduct scandals that have dogged its reputation.
Now, following the release of a detailed internal report outlining disciplinary actions and leadership changes, Kennedy says he’s ready to back Hill. But his endorsement came with a sting — and a warning.
“The FDIC needs to prove that its culture of complacency is over,” Kennedy said. “This is no country for creepy old men — not in government, not anywhere.”
The Louisiana senator’s comment, delivered with his trademark blend of Southern wit and razor-sharp directness, captured a wider frustration in Washington: that too many public institutions have been slow to confront entrenched cultures of abuse and impunity.
The controversy dates back to a 2024 independent review by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, which found the FDIC had “for far too many employees, and for far too long” failed to protect its workforce from harassment and discrimination. The review painted a damning picture — of an agency steeped in outdated hierarchies, where misconduct complaints were ignored or mishandled, and accountability was rare.
A follow-up investigation by the FDIC’s Office of Inspector General reinforced those findings, revealing that over one-third of employees had experienced or witnessed harassment. The report accused senior management of neglect and inconsistency, describing a culture that tolerated “inappropriate conduct” under the guise of institutional loyalty.
That was before Kennedy stepped in. The senator, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, publicly conditioned his support for Hill’s nomination on concrete evidence that the agency had acted on those findings. He demanded proof that executives accused of misconduct had been disciplined or dismissed — and he got it.
According to the latest FDIC data, twenty-six employees resigned or were terminated in the last fiscal year following verified misconduct cases. None of the executives implicated remain employed at the agency. For Kennedy, that was enough to signal a genuine shift.
Hill, who previously served as FDIC vice chair, has pledged to continue that reform momentum. “The FDIC cannot fulfil its mission to protect the financial system if it fails to protect its own people,” he said during his latest hearing. “Every employee deserves a workplace grounded in respect.”
Kennedy’s backing now significantly boosts Hill’s path to confirmation. Yet beyond the procedural politics, his “no country for creepy old men” line has become a rallying cry — one that resonates far beyond the FDIC itself. It speaks to a larger reckoning in Washington’s institutions, where generational power structures are being challenged and workplace ethics are increasingly under public scrutiny.
Critics might call Kennedy’s phrasing blunt or theatrical, but that’s precisely why it worked. In a city known for euphemism, his words cut through the noise. They reframed a bureaucratic scandal as a moral issue — one that demands not polite statements but real reform.
As the Senate prepares for a final vote on Hill’s nomination, Kennedy’s words still hang in the air. Whether seen as a political flourish or a call to conscience, they have forced Washington to confront an uncomfortable truth: accountability, once optional, has now become essential.
For the FDIC, Hill’s confirmation would mark more than a leadership change. It would be a test of whether one of America’s key financial watchdogs can restore trust — both inside its walls and in the eyes of the public. And for Kennedy, it’s another reminder that, in his Washington, there’s no room left for “creepy old men.”
Leave a Reply