Male Democrat Staffer Kicked Out of Congressional Trip For ‘Bullying and Harassing’ Female Department of Interior Employee
Peter Kiefhaber, a Democrat who works with the Appropriations Committee harassed BLM (Bureau of Land Management) acting chief of staff Amanda Kaster during a meeting this week in Reno.
According to Interior Department officials who attended the meeting and spoke to the Daily Caller, Kiefhaber insisted Amanda Kaster be removed from the meeting because he didn’t recognize her and believed she did not belong there.
Keifhaber became so hostile that he was kicked out of the Congressional trip on the first day and a complaint was filed against him.
The Daily Caller reported:
“Today, the Department of the Interior removed a member of the House Appropriations Committee staff from an official trip to Nevada,” read an Interior statement provided to the DCNF on Monday. “Unfortunately, before this morning’s meetings commenced, one staffer, Mr. Peter Kiefhaber, verbally harassed and bullied a BLM staffer regarding their participation in the meetings, creating a hostile work environment.”Getting booted from the trip may not be the only punishment for Kiefhaber. The Interior Department says it will ask the House Ethics office to review what happened.“The Department works to ensure that the appropriate subject matter experts are available to members of Congress and their staff during their visits to our facilities,” the statement continued. “However, we will not tolerate our staff being subjected to this type of malicious behavior. The appropriate members of Congress and senior staff have been notified of Mr. Kiefhaber’s actions, and we intend to request the House Ethics Office look into this incident.”
Comms Director for the House Appropriations committee Evan Hollander told the Daily Caller that there was no bullying.
“There was no bullying or harassment and the only apology that is owed is by Secretary Bernhardt and his staff for again trampling on the Constitution’s separation of powers,” Hollander said.
