Trump officials blur Hatch Act lines with GOP convention speeches

Five years after top Trump officials were found in violation of the Hatch Act over their appearances at the 2020 Republican National Convention, President Trump’s Cabinet is once again taking the stage to boost Republicans ahead of the midterms.

Administration officials have notably been introduced without their official titles for their speeches at the GOP convention in Dallas.

Still, their appearances are a departure from the norms of government officials staying away from overtly political events — and highlight the toothlessness of a law that’s been flouted by both parties.

Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer under former President George W. Bush, said he’s been pushing for a change to the Hatch Act for a long time, calling it a “charade.” The law prohibits federal executive branch employees, other than the president and vice president, from participating in some forms of political activity, like campaigning in an official capacity, fundraising or using their title to try and influence an election.

“It’s an invitation to trouble when half the time they wear their personal hat, half the time they wear their official hat,” he said.

A whole array of senior officials took the stage Wednesday night to kick off the RNC’s midterm convention in Dallas, including Attorney General Todd Blanche, Director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Mehmet Oz, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.

Bessent and Rollins were introduced as “the honorable,” Blanche didn’t have any introduction and Oz was introduced as “trusted physician, author, educator and television personality.”

The second day featured a speech by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Scott Coffina, former associate counsel to the younger Bush, said using “the honorable” instead of an official’s title is advice he used to give.

“That’s how you address it when you’re trying to avoid a Hatch Act problem,” he said. “So, I think that they were certainly mindful of it.”

The officials talked about Trump’s accomplishments and warned of the damage the other party could do, but they stopped short of mentioning their agencies and the work they’ve done in an official capacity.

“If they start giving a speech that talks about the work of their agency and it’s extensive discussion of the work, of their agency, that’s a big problem,” Painter said. “Now if they want to get into foreign policy or whatever policy issues that are relevant to the work of their agency — all right, express their personal views.”

Blanche’s appearance at the convention drew the most attention. It was criticized by former Attorney General Eric Holder, who said before Blanche’s speech that the plan was “unprecedented” and “disgraceful.”

When asked for comment, the White House referred The Hill to comments made by the Justice Department’s rapid response social media page in response to a complaint from House Judiciary Democrats about the planned remarks.

“While Jack Smith may agree with you about violating federal law, the Hatch Act is available for everyone to read, and Todd Blanche’s appearance this evening in his personal capacity is legal (and has been approved by ethics),” the department’s official account on the social platform X posted Wednesday.

Blanche’s speech was short and focused on the administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

“It’s obviously unconventional for an attorney general to speak at a political event,” Coffina said. “They almost never do historically, but that doesn’t make it a violation if they do. And I just think he toed the line.”

Painter said Blanche speaking at the convention is not “itself a violation, but it’s symbolic that they’re willing to cast aside precedence.”

Violations of the Hatch Act are not new and are not exclusive to the Trump administration. Painter has said he has seen violations in the Obama, Biden and both Trump administrations, and he noted he was very critical of the Biden administration.

“Every administration goes through it, but the Trump administration has an attitude toward the rules, that the rules don’t apply to them, so it’s worse,” he said.

In 2021, the Office of Special Counsel determined that 13 senior Trump administration officials violated the Hatch Act during the 2020 campaign.

The report came out after those officials had left office, and there is no enforcement mechanism for the law in place after an official leaves office. Those in violation spanned from the former press secretary to the former chief of staff and former national security adviser.

Coffina said Hatch Act enforcement has “really become relaxed” over the years.

“The ultimate enforcer at the Cabinet level with a presidential appointee is the president,” he said. “So, if he decides to let it go, or sets a tone that it doesn’t matter, or that he’s going to have a high threshold for it … and that’s the pattern of the last three administrations.”

Painter has written op-eds and has testified before Congress calling for reform of the Hatch Act to make it so political appointees can’t engage in partisan politics while in office.

Change won’t come, he said, because Congress won’t vote for Hatch Act reform if their party is in the White House.

“Voters have got to get fed up and they have to say they want ethics in Washington,” he said.