Watchdog: White House Official Violated Hatch Act

A senior White House official violated the Hatch Act by using social media to help raise money for candidates, the Office of Special Counsel claimed in a complaint filed this week.

In a complaint to the Merit Systems Protection Board filed on Wednesday, the OSC alleges that Neera Tanden, Director of the United States Domestic Policy Council, violated the Hatch Act by posting statements on social media asking for donations to several different Democrat candidates in the 2024 general election despite being warned against such posts.

"Congress created a rule banning all federal employees from fundraising for political candidates," special counsel Hampton Dellinger said in a statement. "The Hatch Act contains no escape hatch for White House officials. Back in May, I made clear my office would enforce the law as written."

According to the complaint, Tanden repeatedly posted on social media asking people to donate to Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrat candidates, even after the agency notified the White House last August that doing so was in violation of the Hatch Act. 

Tanden deleted a single post at the time, but in September posted a video of actor Michael Keaton soliciting donations to the reelection bid of Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., as well as two other posts that the special counsel claims violated the Hatch Act.

A lawyer for Tanden, Michael Bromwich, told Politico that the his client was never interviewed by the special counsel over her posts and called the decision to issue a complaint "extremely unusual," noting that he offered on Thursday morning to have Tanden meet with the special counsel's office, but was told it would announce the complaint, anyway.

"I've never heard of filing a complaint or issuing a press release without ever making an effort to interview the subject of the investigation," Bromwich said, adding, "They're in a huge hurry for no apparent reason."

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