The person in charge of the US Capitol buildings and grounds was fired amid allegations he improperly used government-owned vehicles for personal use and misrepresented himself as a law enforcement officer.
(Bloomberg) — The person in charge of the US Capitol buildings and grounds was fired amid allegations he improperly used government-owned vehicles for personal use and misrepresented himself as a law enforcement officer.
Architect of the Capitol J. Brett Blanton was fired by President Joe Biden three years into his 10-year term, and months after a government watchdog issued a report substantiating claims of wrongdoing. Among other allegations, the Office of Inspector General said Blanton’s family members used his government-owned vehicles for personal trips, including to a brewery, and one of his daughters called the vehicles “free gas.”
During a congressional hearing last week, lawmakers said Blanton failed to provide satisfactory answers to the issues that were raised in that inspector general report.
Capitol Hill Official Accused of Misusing Government Vehicles
“The Architect of the Capitol, Brett Blanton, no longer has my confidence to continue in his job,” Speaker Kevin McCarthy had tweeted earlier Monday. A White House official said Biden had made his decision before McCarthy’s tweet.
There was no immediate response on Monday to requests for comment about his firing left with a spokesman for Blanton, who has held the post since January 2020. The office said in a statement on Monday night that his duties had been assumed by Chere Rexroat on an interim basis. She has been the office’s chief engineer.
At the hearing, Blanton denied wrongdoing.
“I wholeheartedly reject any assertion that I engaged in unethical behavior during my service to this country,” he said.
The architect is appointed for a 10-year term by the president, and confirmed by the Senate. Blanton’s primary role was to maintain and preserve the US Capitol. He also was a member of the three-person Capitol Police Board and the only one who remained on the board following the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.
Blanton angered some lawmakers by letting it be known he had avoided coming to the Capitol that day. He said he thought it would be “prudent” instead to use his official vehicle as a “mobile command post” away from the Hill. “He certainly should have been at the Capitol. It’s unconscionable that he wasn’t there,” Morelle said Monday.
The inspector general report included evidence and testimony that Blanton, his wife and adult daughter consistently used government vehicles for personal use, including a weekend trip to a craft brewery.
His daughter Reilly told the inspector general that her father had given her permission and that she had transported both her friends and boyfriend in the vehicle. She referred to using the government cars as “free gas.” Blanton should have driven approximately 10,438 miles using the office’s vehicles, but he recorded nearly three times that amount, the report found.
In another matter cited by the inspector general, Blanton, his family were involved in an accident in May 2020 in a government vehicle at Vanish Farmwoods Brewery in Leesburg, Virginia, outside Washington. Blanton told the other driver that he was an “agent” and did not have insurance information because the government would handle the insurance claim, the report stated.
The House Office of General Counsel and Blanton argued he is authorized to use the vehicles “for continuity of operations or emergency response to the U.S. Capitol, as necessary,” the same report states. But the inspector general’s report said the vehicles are intended to be used “to transport employees between their home and place of work.”
McCarthy’s call for Blanton’s ouster was quickly echoed Monday by the top Republican on the Committee on House Administration.
“His refusal to be transparent and truthful has made clear that he can no longer lead the organization and must resign immediately,” Chairman Bryan Steil of Wisconsin said.
–With assistance from Akayla Gardner.
(Updates with)
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