Gov. Greg Gianforte suspended Public Service Commissioner Brad Molnar without pay for one year, effective immediately, citing findings from two independent investigations that concluded Molnar had engaged in sexual harassment, retaliation against staff and fellow commissioners, and continued retaliation after being warned to stop.
The action, taken Thursday, is believed to be the first time in Montana history a governor has suspended an elected commissioner. Gianforte acknowledged the historic nature of the step in a letter to Molnar and the PSC’s Response Team, writing that “a suspension of an elected official by a governor is unprecedented in state history,” but concluded that Molnar’s conduct left him no choice.
“In my view, Commissioner Molnar has repeatedly violated the sacred trust between him and the people of Montana and has shown no remorse for it,” Gianforte wrote. “In fact, he retaliated for months against those at the PSC who have brought legitimate concerns to light.”
Two independent human resources investigations, conducted in 2025 and summarized in a May 2026 response team report, found three categories of unlawful conduct. The first involved discriminatory and unwelcome comments made to four PSC employees on five occasions, including suggestions of “Topless Tuesdays” and other remarks investigators said created a hostile work environment. The second involved retaliatory behavior designed to discourage staff and commissioners from participating in the complaint process. The third involved continued retaliation following the initial investigation, including, according to the November 2025 report, Molnar calling a female employee at her personal number regarding costs of his own investigation, noting that he now knew her phone number and could find out where she lived, and referencing photos of her children sleeping in their beds.
Gianforte wrote that Molnar’s conduct, left unchecked, would ordinarily warrant termination rather than suspension, but that state law reserves outright removal of PSC commissioners to the courts. Under state statute, the governor may suspend a commissioner for good cause; the governor cited three grounds that he found satisfied that standard.
Molnar’s suspension is without pay and his return is contingent on completing training that the PSC has already required of him. Gianforte said he is evaluating next steps for an appointment to fill Molnar’s seat in the interim.
Molnar and his attorney, Matthew Monforton, said they will fight the suspension in court. Monforton called the process a “kangaroo process” and said Gianforte had used an HR complaint to overturn an election. Molnar, for his part, said the suspension was not about workplace conduct.
“This decision is not about workplace conduct. It is about politics, power and money,” Molnar said in a statement. “I have proudly built a career fighting for Montana consumers, not powerful special interests. I will continue fighting in court to restore the office the people elected me to hold.”
The suspension lands as the PSC faces one of the most consequential regulatory decisions in its recent history: a proposed $15.4 billion merger between NorthWestern Energy, Montana’s largest public utility, and Black Hills Corp. Molnar has been the commission’s most vocal skeptic of the deal and has argued that removing him clears the way for the merger to proceed with less scrutiny. He also raised concerns about a proposal by Quantica, a company planning a large-scale data center near Broadview, to secure up to 7,000 megawatts of generation capacity from NorthWestern — a request that also requires PSC approval.
Gianforte rejected the suggestion in his letter that he has any bias toward the merger, saying his prior public statements reflecting openness to the proposal were not an endorsement of its approval. Federal Judge Donald Molloy made a similar finding in the parallel federal court case, concluding that the misconduct investigation and the merger proceeding unfolded at the same time but independently of each other.
Monforton confirmed Molnar plans to return to court early next week to seek an emergency order blocking the suspension.
