Sen. Grassley exposes CBP bureaucrats for whistleblower retaliation

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is calling on Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to investigate CBP bureaucrats for their retaliation against agency whistleblowers, and to hold all retaliators accountable for their actions.

In May, Grassley helped restore the careers of three CBP whistleblowers – Fred Wynn, Mike Taylor and Mark Jones – who faced nearly a decade of retaliation after exposing CBP’s noncompliance with the DNA Fingerprint Act of 2005.

This retaliation is documented in a 2021 report by the Office of Special Counsel, which confirmed CBP Office of Intelligence (OI) management – including then-Executive Director of Intelligence Operations Ronald Ocker and then-Acting Deputy Executive Director of Intelligence Operations Juan Fernandez – engaged in whistleblower retaliation. Additionally, in May 2024, Grassley sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) detailing evidence of retaliation against the three whistleblowers by multiple CBP officials, including Ocker and Fernandez.

“I am grateful to DHS leadership and the Trump administration for bringing these whistleblowers back to their rightful roles when the Biden administration failed to do so. To ensure that retaliation does not happen again at DHS, CBP or any of the Department’s other component agencies, the bureaucrats who retaliated against Mr. Wynn, Mr. Taylor, and Mr. Jones must be held accountable,” Grassley wrote.

“I am requesting that CBP investigate these reported instances of whistleblower retaliation and hold accountable, as appropriate, all individuals responsible for the seven-year nightmare these brave whistleblowers endured,” Grassley concluded.

In May, Grassley successfully secured promotions for CBP whistleblowers Wynn, Taylor and Jones, along with full compensation for the more than seven years of retaliation they suffered. The agency also reauthorized Jones and Taylors’ law enforcement credentials, badges and firearms, which had been revoked by the Biden administration for blowing the whistle on CBP’s noncompliance with the DNA Fingerprint Act of 2005.

Since 2018, Grassley urged CBP to end its retaliation against these whistleblowers and follow the law. He highlighted their case at a congressional roundtable last year, where Wynn, Taylor and Jones discussed the national security implications of CBP’s refusal to collect DNA samples.

During the April 2025 hearing to consider President Trump’s nominee to be CBP Commissioner, Grassley again voiced his request for these whistleblowers to be “100% redirected from the punishment they had by the previous administration.” Days later, CBP agreed to promote Wynn, Taylor and Jones.
Grassley’s successful track record for whistleblowers:

The promotion of the CBP whistleblowers is the third major victory Grassley has secured for whistleblowers this year. In March, the Internal Revenue Service promoted whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, at Grassley’s urging. On National Whistleblower Day, Grassley announced he had succeeded in reinstating a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) whistleblower’s clearance and employment with the agency.

This Congress, Grassley also introduced legislation to strengthen whistleblower protections for FBI employees and federal contractors, while calling on President Trump to ensure federal downsizing initiatives aren’t used to retaliate against those who blow the whistle on waste, fraud and abuse.