Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., are urging the Department of Homeland Security to address the "alarming" volume of sexual harassment and misconduct reports filed against it.
Grassley is the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Durbin is the chair of the panel. They want to know what steps are being taken to reduce the high number of complaints within the department.
"The issue stems from a DHS Office of Inspector General [OIG] survey, which found 6,774 employees — a quarter of the DHS workforce surveyed between 2011 and 2018 — agreed that sexual harassment occurred 'frequently' or 'sometimes,'" a statement from Grassley's office said.
"The survey results came to light after the DHS OIG allegedly attempted to suppress the report. DHS formed the working group after the survey results were published by news outlets."
The senators made their request in a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
"We are concerned about DHS OIG's handling of this survey, and we recognize that you responded by establishing a working group to examine sexual harassment at DHS.
"Given the seriousness of the issues raised by the survey, Congress requires details with respect to the working group's examination. Accordingly, we write today to seek information regarding the working group's established mission, findings, and recommendations," the senators wrote.
According to Grassley's office: "The survey had revealed over 10,000 DHS employees experienced sexual harassment or misconduct but 8,148 did not file reports. It also found only about one third of respondents marked 'strongly agree' when asked if the department informs employees about what constitutes sexual harassment or misconduct in the workplace."
And the two senators wrote in their letter: "Simply put, the numbers are beyond unacceptable and demand immediate changes. The new working group was assigned to the Department's General Counsel, and it was tasked with a 45-day review of the employee misconduct discipline processes at DHS and providing recommendations for improvements.
"DHS has indicated that the recommended changes are already underway; however, we are seeking specific details on the steps you have taken and the reforms you have implemented to end the scourge of misconduct within your department."
In a 2019 memo to DHS employees, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said: "Harassment is prohibited at DHS, and the Department is committed to providing a work environment free of discrimination and harassment.
"Consequently, DHS prohibits harassment even if it does not rise to the level of harassment that violates the law. Although a single harassing utterance or act may not rise to a level that may be actionable under the law, it still has no place at DHS."
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.