Biden’s reelection tests White House’s anti-campaigning stance.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre Violates Hatch Act

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has been notorious for citing a 1939 law prohibiting overt electioneering by federal employees when declining to answer reporters’ questions at briefings. Then last month, she received a letter saying she had violated it.

President Joe Biden’s top spokeswoman made comments about “mega MAGA Republican officials who don’t believe in the rule of law” before last year’s midterm elections, and the Office of Special Counsel concluded she “violated the Hatch Act prohibition against using her official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election.”

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Carefully walking the line between conveying the president’s message and avoiding partisan political activity is only going to grow more complicated now that Biden is a candidate for reelection.

Weeks later, Jean-Pierre held a gaggle with reporters aboard Air Force One en route to a Biden trip to New York for campaign receptions.

“Who’s paying for this trip today?” a reporter asked, noting there were “no standard public administrationwide events” on the agenda. “Is the campaign reimbursing for this trip?”

“As it relates to the trip, it’s a mixed travel trip with official and political portions,” Jean-Pierre replied. “Associated expenses are allocated and paid for in accordance with federal regulations.”

The official portion of the trip, she added in response to a follow-up question, was Biden’s MSNBC interview, during which he would “discuss issues of consequences to the American people: the economy, war on the European continent, our democracy, and possibility — also major rulings for the Supreme Court that would impact millions of people.”

All areas of public significance — and also key parts of Biden’s campaign messaging.

Biden’s team has taken pride in trying to follow the Hatch Act scrupulously, they say, especially in contrast with former President Donald Trump’s White House. The Official of Special Counsel found that over a dozen Trump officials committed numerous “flagrant and unpunished violations” of the law.

Even when the Hatch Act might not have been violated, Trump frequently pushed the boundaries separating politics and government. He held events for the 2020 Republican National Convention at the White House. His White House press secretary spoke at the convention, though she said she did so in her personal capacity to obey the letter of the law.

Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway, chief of staff Mark Meadows, and press secretary Kayleigh McEnany were among those cited as flouting the Hatch Act during the former president’s 2020 reelection campaign.

“The cumulative effect of these repeated and public violations was to undermine public confidence in the nonpartisan operation of government,” the report concluded.

But in 2021, Biden’s first press secretary, Jen Psaki, was found to have violated the Hatch Act by appearing to endorse Democrat Terry McAuliffe’s Virginia gubernatorial bid from the podium during a briefing. Jean-Pierre then did so over a year later.

Jean-Pierre got off with a warning letter. The group that brought the complaint against Psaki credited her with being “quick to publicly admit her error and sincerely apologize. She took responsibility for her conduct, committed to changing, and demonstrated that commitment the next time a similar opportunity came up.”

There is also the broader issue that Biden’s White House team frequently attacks Republican opponents and amplifies Democratic campaign messaging from the podium while citing the Hatch Act to avoid answering questions about his schedule. The “MAGA Republican” tag line that has since been deemed electioneering was devised by Anita Dunn, who has since been described by CNN as “steering 2024 messaging from the White House.” But she has cited the Hatch Act when declining to elaborate on her role.

Biden himself is exempt from the Hatch Act, as is Vice President Kamala Harris.

“The president is proud to have restored the rule of law in his administration,” Jean-Pierre told reporters at a briefing when asked about his commitment to the Hatch Act. “And I can tell you here and I can tell you now that he will not exploit his office with conventions at the White House like it was done in the last administration.”

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Biden will have campaign spokespeople, as well as the Democratic National Committee’s press team, separate from the White House staff. But much of his official business, such as a trip to the critical primary state of South Carolina to tout “Bidenomics,” will mingle with his campaign messaging.

“He will not exploit his office for political gain in the way that we saw in the last administration,” Jean-Pierre repeated. That administration was headed by Biden’s leading 2024 Republican challenger.

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