On Tuesday, the Office of Special Counsel announced that Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra violated a federal ethics law by engaging in partisan political activity while speaking in his official capacity. But I’m here to tell you that little will happen to him.
Back in September, Becerra gave a speech at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’s annual awards ceremony during which he praised California Sen. Alex Padilla (D-7th district), whom he referred to as “my brother, my friend, and senator,” and announced that he would be voting for Padilla in the upcoming 2022 midterm elections. This unscripted moment was deemed a violation of the Hatch Act of 1939.
The Hatch Act prohibits presidential appointees from using their official titles when engaging in partisan political activity. Becerra is hardly the first Biden official to violate the Hatch Act. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, former White House press secretary Jen Psaki, and former Chief of Staff Ron Klain have also been reprimanded by the Office of Special Counsel for violating the 1939 law. You probably don’t remember these incidents for the same reason Becerra’s violation will be forgotten in a few months’ time.
The Hatch Act intended to safeguard against political abuse of power, but Hatch Act violations are rarely enforced—as government officials from both parties have been accused of such violations for years. Hatch Act violations can potentially result in serious consequences, such as disciplinary action, including suspension, demotion, or even termination of employment. In addition, the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), which is responsible for enforcing the Hatch Act, can also impose civil penalties on violators. But such consequences are extremely rare.
None of the aforementioned Biden officials were punished for their violations. Nor did Barack Obama’s HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, or Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. Similarly, Trump’s former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue were also accused of or found to have committed Hatch Act violations.
But while Hatch Act violations are a bipartisan affair, as you could have predicted, outrage over the violation is directly related to which party the violator belongs to. While there have been multiple Obama and Biden Administration officials who have violated the Hatch Act, none of them faced severe punishment. But when Kellyanne Conway was found to have committed such violations in 2018, the OSC submitted its report to the president and called “for appropriate disciplinary action.” As for Becerra, the OSC report merely called for “appropriate action” by the president. It’s curious that the word “disciplinary” was absent in the latter report.
Not that it really matters anyway. Nothing will happen to Becerra, just as nothing happened to Conway. Special Counsel Henry Kerner would later recommend Conway’s removal from her position for the crime of disparaging Democrats during media appearances and on her Twitter account. But Hatch Act violation referrals are sent to the president, and since when has a president punished one of his own high-level government officials for a Hatch Act violation?
Enforcement of the Hatch Act has been reduced to a mere suggestion, not a rule, for high-level government officials. For the Hatch Act to be taken seriously, it is necessary to establish a different system where the sitting president is not responsible for deciding whether or not any disciplinary action will be taken.