When
the Social Security Administration’s inspector general investigated
allegations earlier this year that one of the agency’s senior leaders was routinely impaired on the job, six witnesses painted an alarming picture.
Theresa Gruber, a deputy commissioner overseeing around 9,000 employees and a $1.2 billion budget in the hearings and appeals operation, displayed “significant
anomalies” at work over the course of at least a year, including
slurred speech in which she “appeared intoxicated,” leaving meetings
without notice, slouching in her chair and aggressive behavior,
witnesses told investigators.
But five months after acting Social Security commissioner Kilolo
Kijakazi was presented with the internal report, which The Washington
Post obtained, Gruber remains on the job. The allegations by witnesses
were corroborated to The Post by three members of Gruber’s senior staff,
who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters.
In recent months, Inspector General Gail Ennis’s office has received more formal complaints
about Gruber’s conduct, according to people with knowledge of the
communications. She has continued to act erratically, three agency
employees said, and in recent weeks has missed several meetings of her
leadership team. ...
Staff members told investigators that while they did not directly
witness Gruber consuming alcohol on the job, her comportment led them to
wonder if she had been drinking. Gruber, 53, is also diabetic,
the report notes, a condition that, when poorly treated, can cause
irritability, disorientation or slurred speech. She told a close
circle of colleagues that she was dealing with medical issues stemming
from the condition, according to the report. ...
One high-ranking official interviewed by The Post described a “rudderless” department under Gruber, who sometimes does
not communicate with her staff for days at a time, the official said.
“She is MIA, and they’re not holding anyone accountable,” said this
person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not
authorized to discuss matters publicly. Another official described
“delays to decision-making” and important meetings and difficulty
getting Gruber’s attention — factors they say threaten the department’s
mission to conduct impartial hearings and issue decisions on appeals
involving retirement and survivor and disability benefits for poor and
elderly Americans. ...
