President Joe Biden has fired the Architect of the Capitol after an inspector general report released last year found that he abused his government vehicle and misrepresented himself as a law enforcement official.
The White House announced on Monday that Biden fired J. Brett Blanton amid bipartisan calls for his termination, according to The Hill.
“After doing our due diligence, the Architect of Capitol was terminated at the President’s direction,” the White House said.
The inspector general report released last fall found that Blanton abused government property and wasted taxpayer dollars by allowing his family to drive a government-owned vehicle and taking the vehicle on out-of-town trips, CNN reports. He is also accused of ethics violations for offering to provide tours to “patriots’ before the November 2020 presidential election.
Blanton used one of the government-owned vehicles to chase a hit and run suspect after his daughter’s boyfriend’s car was struck near his home. Both the police report and the suspect said Blanton identified himself as an “off-duty DC police officer,” which is not true.
Additionally, it was revealed that Blanton, whose job it was to oversee the Capitol complex’s building maintenance, preservation and development, was not physically present at the Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Blanton was nominated to serve a 10-year term in the post by former President Donald Trump. He was confirmed by the Senate in 2019.
