President Joe Biden fired Architect of the Capitol Brett Blanton on Monday,
Blanton, according to an inspector general report, had misused a government car as well as impersonated a police officer.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California), as well as House Administration Committee members Bryan Steil (R-Wisconsin) and Joseph Morelle (D-New York), had called for Blanton’s removal earlier.
The Architect of the Capitol is a presidentially appointed position that oversees the maintenance and modernization of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C. Blanton, as Architect of the Capitol, was also one of three people who sat on the Capitol Police oversight board.
Blanton was appointed to a 10-year term by former President Donald Trump and confirmed by the Senate in 2019.
Biden is the only government official with the authority to fire an Architect of the Capitol.
Blandon has been accused of using a government-funded car service, sanctioned exclusively for travel between his home and work, for personal use by his family. This has allegedly cost taxpayers $14,000 in inappropriate costs.
Blandon was also accused of impersonating a police officer in a hit-and-run incident outside of his home. He allegedly chased the driver down and told police officers at the scene that he was a member of law enforcement.
Blandon has rejected the accusation, saying that responding officers misunderstood what he had said.
According to Blandon, he told the Fairfax County police officers that he was a “Capitol Police Board Member” and that he had done nothing wrong.
Blanton faced scrutiny last week in a House Administration Committee meeting. After the inspector general report was released last month, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the administration was “taking this very seriously” and that Biden would “take any advice that the members of Congress or any action that they want to take very seriously.”
