Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, has stated that a misogynist environment within Washington has resulted in the departure of two high-profile women within the federal government: former presidential adviser Elizabeth Warren and former Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) Chairwoman Sheila Bair.

TheHill.com reports that Frank, in statements delivered on the floor of the House of Representatives, believes that Warren was passed over for the directorship of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) because she is a woman.

"Part of it, I have to say, was gender bias," Frank said. "Along with Sheila Bair, recently departed head of the FDIC, Ms. Warren encountered from some people, maybe unconscious on their part, the notion that a very strong-willed woman with strong opinions might have a place, but not in the financial sector. And I regret the loss of both of these."

Jeff Emerson, deputy chief of staff on the committee, later responded that the nomination of Richard Cordray to head the CFPB was not made on Capitol Hill.

"Mr. Frank obviously ignores the fact that President Obama could nominate whomever he wanted for this position, and he is the one who chose not to nominate Warren," he said.

Neither Warren nor Bair offered public comments on Frank's remarks. Bair chose not to seek a renewal of her FDIC position, while Warren announced her return to Harvard University following the Cordray nomination.