The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Monday decided to retain its present chair, Rep. Nanette Barragán, despite turmoil over staff departures in recent days.

The decision came after CHC members convened virtually to discuss the California Democrat’s leadership abilities, which were under scrutiny, along with her failure to retain staffers.

The caucus members’ meeting to discuss Ms. Barragán’s future leadership post happened days after she fired the group’s executive director, Jacky Usyk, a Capitol Hill veteran, last Thursday.  Ms. Usyk had only been on the job for a month.  

The prospect of removing Ms. Barragán and replacing her with likely contender for the role Rep. Adriano Espaillat, New York Democrat, brought up concerns that it would be the second time a Hispanic woman was passed over for the post.

The staff resignations left the CHC with no employees in the five-person workplace, because the remaining staffers, including the communications director and policy experts, quit or found other jobs. Ms. Barragán’s reputation as an abusive boss made it difficult to replace the CHC personnel.

Ms. Usyk’s firing first surfaced on the Instagram account “Dear White Staffers,” which amplifies anonymous Capitol workplace staffers’ complaints about their bosses.

Legistorm, a site that collects workplace information on every House and Senate office, showed that Ms. Barragán was ranked as the third-worst boss in the House last year.

The site defines this as “a reputation for being hard to work for, whether due to anger management, shady ethics, poor pay, demanding too much or creating a toxic work environment.”

Ms. Barragán’s office responded to the accusations.

“Jacky is no longer with the CHC,” the statement said. “We wish her well in her future endeavors. We do not comment on internal confidential personnel matters.”

• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.