John,

The latest Trump administration official to abuse taxpayer dollars for political purposes?

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.

Following a CREW complaint, the Office of Special Counsel found that Perdue violated the Hatch Act when he advocated for President Trump’s re-election in a speech about the Farmers to Families Food Box Program. Perdue has been ordered to reimburse the government for the costs of his trip as a result of his violation.

This is a big deal. Misusing federal resources, and the power and authority of the federal government, in order to boost the president’s campaign undermines our democracy—and a Cabinet Secretary should know better. In recent months, the president and his inner circle have steadily escalated their abuse of taxpayer resources and government power for political purposes, and this was a particularly egregious example coming from the highest level of the Trump administration.

Unfortunately, Perdue isn’t the only recent Hatch Act violator. We recently called for Assistant to the President and Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Peter Navarro to resign following the latest in his overwhelming series of Hatch Act violations.

And just this week, Ivanka Trump may have broken a record by violating the Hatch Act eight times in just over 48 hours on Twitter, demonstrating an utter disregard for ethics and integrity.

Using taxpayer resources and government power to keep yourself and your party in office is a gross attack on our democracy. It’s what dictators and despots do to cling to power, and with the Trump administration’s recent actions, it’s clear that they will not hesitate to misuse and abuse taxpayer resources, no matter the consequences.

At CREW, we won’t stand for that. We’ll be fighting back, for as long as it takes.

Donald Sherman
Deputy Director, CREW

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