Hatch Act: Difference between revisions

*In August 2020, [[United States Department of Agriculture|Department of Agriculture]] secretary [[Sonny Perdue]] supported the president's re-election while promoting the Farmers to Families Food Box Program; Perdue was fined for violating the Hatch Act.<ref>{{Cite web|title=USDA chief violated Hatch Act by advocating for Trump re-election, gov't watchdog says|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/usda-head-perdue-violated-hatch-act-advocating-trump-re-election-n1242687|access-date=2020-10-26|website=[[NBC News]]|date=9 October 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Beitsch|first=Rebecca|date=2020-10-08|title=USDA's Perdue fined for violating Hatch Act while promoting food boxes|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/520240-usdas-perdue-fined-for-violating-hatch-act-while-promoting-food-boxes|access-date=2020-10-26|website=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Mccrimmon|first=Ryan|date=2020-10-08|title=Perdue rebuked for violating ethics law by boosting Trump's reelection|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/08/perdue-ethics-trump-reelection-428018|access-date=2020-10-26|website=[[Politico]]|language=en}}</ref>

* In August 2020, President Trump announced that, as a result of the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States]], and the move of the [[2020 Republican National Convention]] to a largely online format, he would make his speech accepting the Republican Party nomination for the [[2020 United States presidential election|presidential election]] from the [[South Lawn]] of the [[White House]]. In response, the OSC sent a letter to President Trump indicating that, while both the President and Vice President are not covered by the terms of the Hatch Act, White House staffers are, and would therefore not be able to assist with such an address. Moreover, other portions of the Convention included clips recorded at the White House, including an interview with freed hostages, and a naturalization ceremony.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/26/us/politics/trump-naturalization-ceremony-rnc.html|title=Trump Takes Night Off From Anti-Immigrant Talk to Swear In U.S. Citizens|first1=Zolan|last1=Kanno-Youngs|first2=Michael D.|last2=Shear|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=August 26, 2020}}</ref> While Republicans argued that the South Lawn forms part of the President's residence, and therefore should not be classed as part of a federal building, legal experts point out that "[i]t's still illegal under the Hatch Act for any White House staffer to participate in executing a campaign photo op/video segment in the White House".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/08/25/rnc-white-house-convention-speeches-ethics-hatch-act-trump/5628864002/ |title=RNC: Trump criticized for using White House as a backdrop for the convention |last=Behrmann |first=Savannah |date=26 August 2020 |website=USA Today |access-date=26 August 2020 }}</ref> This could also lead to investigations for staffers who may have aided [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] [[Mike Pompeo]] (but not Pompeo himself) in his convention activities as he delivered a speech while on official business in [[Jerusalem]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.govexec.com/oversight/2020/08/feds-can-be-prosecuted-hatch-act-violations-though-pompeo-and-wolf-likely-clear/168041/|title=Feds Can Be Prosecuted for Hatch Act Violations, Though Pompeo and Wolf Are Likely in the Clear|website=Government Executive|date=27 August 2020 }}</ref>

* On November 5, 2020, the [[United States Office of Special Counsel]] opened an investigation into the campaign's use of the White House for campaign purposes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/524864-office-of-special-counsel-investigating-use-of-white-house-for-trump|title=Office of Special Counsel investigating use of White House for Trump campaign 'war room'|first=Brett|last=Samuels|date=November 6, 2020|website=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]}}</ref> In January 2021, emails from before the election were reported to feature a "top" Interior department official instructing staff to reference the president's account in each post on social media.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2021/01/29/stories/1063723931|title = POLITICO Pro}}</ref>

* In March 2021, Housing and Urban Development Secretary [[Marcia Fudge]] violated the Hatch Act by signaling support for Democratic candidates for the upcoming 2022 Ohio Senate election. Secretary Fudge received a warning from the [[Office of Special Counsel]] for the comments, which said, "If in the future she engages in prohibited political activity we will consider such activity to be a willful and knowing violation of the law that could result in further action."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nypost.com/2021/05/13/bidens-hud-sec-violated-hatch-act-with-election-talk-watchdog/|title=Biden's HUD secretary violated Hatch Act with election talk: watchdog|date=May 14, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/14/politics/marcia-fudge-hatch-act-violation/index.html|title=HUD Secretary Fudge violated the Hatch Act, Office of Special Counsel concludes|website=[[CNN]]|date=14 May 2021 }}</ref>

* In October 2021, [[White House Press Secretary]] [[Jen Psaki]] was alleged to have violated the Hatch Act by the watchdog [[Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington]] after she indicated that [[President Joe Biden]] supported the candidacy of Democrat [[Terry McAuliffe]] in the [[2021 Virginia gubernatorial election]]. The watchdog had previously warned, in a letter to the Biden Administration, that Psaki's statement of support in February 2021 for [[California Governor]] [[Gavin Newsom]] in the [[2021 California gubernatorial recall election]], while not a Hatch Act violation since the election was not yet certain to occur, was "closer than necessary to the situations the Hatch Act does contemplate".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/10/15/jen-psaki-accused-violating-hatch-act-government-watchdog-group/8470700002/|title=White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki accused of violating Hatch Act|website=USA Today}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.citizensforethics.org/news/press-releases/crew-sends-biden-administration-letter-on-hatch-act/|title=CREW sends Biden administration letter on Hatch Act|date=March 22, 2021|website=CREW &#124; Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington}}</ref><ref>https://www.citizensforethics.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2021-3-22-Remus-Hatch-Act.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref>

* In November 2022, by mentioning "mega MAGA Republicans" as midterm election campaigns were ongoing, Karine Jean-Pierre broke a law that prohibits federal employees from using their position to influence elections, according to federal investigators.  In the June 7 letter, the agency laid out its findings. "Because Ms. Jean‐Pierre made the statements while acting in her official capacity, she violated the Hatch Act prohibition against using her official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election," Ana Galindo‐Marrone, who leads the agency's Hatch Act Unit, wrote in the letter, according to NBC.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-12 |title=White House press secretary violated Hatch Act, watchdog agency says |url=https://news.yahoo.com/white-house-press-secretary-violated-231745815.html |access-date=2023-06-13 |website=Yahoo News |language=en-US}}</ref>

* In October 2022, the [[United States Office of Special Counsel|Office of Special Counsel]] found that [[Ron Klain]] had violated the Hatch Act and was warned not to do so again. On January 21, 2023, it was reported that Klain would resign as chief of staff in the period following the [[2023 State of the Union Address]] on February 7.