During the 2026 election cycle, Campaign Legal Center continues to vigilantly monitor and demand public accountability for Hatch Act violations. Nonpartisanship as a cornerstone of civil service is a principle outlined in the Constitution, reaffirmed by the courts and protected by the law — namely, through the Hatch Act. The public has the right to know if government officials are using their office for partisan gain, and accountability must follow when this occurs.
Passed in 1939, the Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from engaging in certain partisan political activities in their official capacity, such as while at work, while wearing a government uniform or during a public appearance. It covers all federal civilian executive branch employees except for the president and vice president.
These employees carry out the everyday tasks of government — like processing Social Security payments, making sure our nation’s airports are safe, and measuring air and water pollution. The Hatch Act protects these essential government functions by ensuring that programs are administered in a nonpartisan fashion; that federal employees are protected from political coercion in the workplace; and advancement is based on merit, not political affiliation.
While nonpartisanship in civil service is an important tenant of our government, the Trump administration has shown little to no interest in upholding it. President Donald Trump himself has used his official position to leverage massive partisan political wins, from rewarding his largest donors with Cabinet appointments to extending presidential pardons to his political supporters. In fact, one of the president’s earliest official actions was a direct attack on nonpartisanship when he fired the head of the agency responsible for enforcing the Hatch Act, the Office of Special Counsel.
This corruption has consequences: When executive branch officials ignore ethics laws — including the Hatch Act — and put their personal, political and financial goals before the good of the people, everyday Americans lose faith that their government can truly work for them.
Campaign Legal Center has documented multiple examples of top administration officials violating the Hatch Act.
Attempts to erode nonpartisanship
Public service is a public trust, and using a government position for partisan political gain undermines the government’s ability to serve the people.
Instances of Hatch Act violations have taken place for years across presidential administrations. In 2016, Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for President Barack Obama Julian Castro broke the law when he praised then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and advocated for her campaign during an interview given in his official capacity.
Former President Joe Biden’s HUD Secretary faced a similar charge: During a White House briefing, then-HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge promoted Democratic candidates for the 2016 Ohio senatorial election.
The Office of Special Counsel (OSC), the agency tasked with investigating allegations of and enforcing the Hatch Act, found both secretaries violated the law.
The first Trump administration was rife with examples of Hatch Act violations: the White House hosting the official 2020 Republican National Convention raised several legality questions; the OSC released a report in November 2021 detailing widespread violations by 13 members of the Trump administration; and CLC filed three complaints against then-White House counselor Kellyanne Conway for abusing her official authority to influence an election.
The second Trump administration has continued this pattern. In November 2025, out-of-office email responses from Department of Education employees were changed to partisan talking points criticizing the Trump administration’s political opponents and blaming them for the government shutdown, without the DOE employees’ knowledge.
This was a blatant Hatch Act violation — as CLC argued in our brief submitted in support of the employee’s union when they sued the Trump administration for this action, and as the court reaffirmed in its opinion.
Some of the most senior members of this administration, even without explicitly violating the letter of the law, have already demonstrated a willingness to test or break other ethics laws meant to keep civil service nonpartisan. CLC filed a complaint against Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick in March 2025 for encouraging viewers to buy Tesla stock during an official Fox News appearance, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has announced plans to campaign in Kentucky’s 2026 primary election.
Protecting the Hatch Act and the role of nonpartisan government
Campaign Legal Center is monitoring the 2026 elections to identify and call out Hatch Act violations as soon as they happen, sending a clear message to all public officials that attempts to violate the law will not go unnoticed.
For more information on the other threats to ethical government, check out our analysis on how the Trump administration's actions have unraveled important safeguards, leaving our democracy more vulnerable to future corruption and malfeasance. To support Campaign Legal Center’s mission to hold our government accountable and protect public trust in public service, join us today.