Explaining The Hatch Act: When Government Agencies Go Too Far
Explaining The Hatch Act: When Government Agencies Go Too Far In Political Messaging
On Sept. 30, the nonprofit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen filed a formal complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) against the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), alleging a Hatch Act violation, according to court documents obtained by CBS News. The federal law passed in 1939 “limits certain political activities of federal employees as well as some state, D.C., and local government employees who work in connection with federally funded programs,” according to the OSC.
What did HUD say?
The controversy centers on a message that appeared on HUD’s official website just before the government shutdown deadline on Tuesday. The banner, displayed prominently on the agency’s homepage, placed the blame squarely on the Democratic Party or “Radical Left.”
“The Radical Left are going to shut down the government and inflict massive pain on the American people unless they get their $1.5 trillion wish list of demands,” the message, reportedly, read. “The Trump administration wants to keep the government open for the American people.”
It’s unclear if the message is still live, but as of Oct. 3, a banner in the header of HUD’s website still points the finger at Democrats for Wednesday’s shutdown.
“The Radical Left in Congress shut down the government. HUD will use available resources to help Americans in need,” the message reads.
Public Citizen says HUD’s actions are a “blatant violation” of the law.
In their complaint, Public Citizen called HUD’s banner a “blatant violation” of the Hatch Act. The group described the statement as “highly partisan” and said it appeared to “idolize the Trump administration… without attributing any blame for the lack of compromise causing the shutdown.”
The Hatch Act is enforced by the OSC, an independent federal agency tasked with investigating misconduct within the executive branch, enforcing federal ethics laws, and protecting whistleblowers. According to the OSC, the purpose of the law is to “ensure that federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan fashion.”
Craig Holman, a government ethics expert affiliated with Public Citizen, called HUD’s actions an “obvious violation” of the law.
“How on Earth does HUD think they can get away with this?” said Holman in a statement shared with CBS News. Holman argued that the Trump administration has “managed to neuter the ethics enforcement offices in the executive branch,” adding that the very agencies responsible for enforcing the Hatch Act—namely the OSC, the Office of Government Ethics, and the Department of Justice—“have all been taken over by Trump loyalists or those who are intimidated by Trump.”
He added, “The sheer crassness of this partisan advertisement by HUD using taxpayer dollars to campaign against Democrats and promote the Trump administration is going to make it exceedingly difficult for even a neutered ethics office to ignore.”
Rep. Jasmine Crockett also called out the Republicans for violating the Hatch Act.
Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett shared a similar concern during an Oct. 1 interview with CNN, calling HUD’s accusations “propaganda.” She pondered why the messaging hadn’t been flagged as a Hatch Act violation, especially since federal employees also received internal emails on Tuesday blaming Democrats for the government shutdown, The Hill noted.
“I think they’re being a lot more illegal in their messaging. The first thing that I wanted to know was, how can this not be a violation of the Hatch Act in some way? Right?” Crockett told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins. “Because we are not allowed to politic on official sites, period…And that’s what they’re doing.”
Crockett also suggested that the shutdown might be a strategic distraction to divert attention from the potential release of Jeffrey Epstein-related files, which Trump is connected to.
“Yeah, I think anything that the president can do to get people to distract from Epstein, he’s going to do it,” she said flat out.
SEE MORE:
The Government Shutdown Has Officially Happened: What Happens Now, And Who Is To Blame?
