Trump Administration Officials Who Spoke at Alaska Campaign Rally May Have Violated Federal Law

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick mixed official government business with partisan politics at an October 13 rally for Alaska Senate candidate Dan Sullivan

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Three senior administration officials joined President Trump at a campaign event for U.S. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan in Alaska on Oct. 13, touting their government work at a partisan event and raising serious questions about whether they violated federal laws prohibiting federal employees from using their official authority to influence an election.

Democracy Defenders Fund and Reporters Without Borders, Inc. today filed a formal complaint asking the U.S. Office of Special Counsel to investigate whether FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick violated the Hatch Act by appearing at the rally.

While Carr said he was speaking in his “personal capacity,” his remarks focused on FCC business related to Alaska, including committing to work with Senator Sullivan to get every person in Alaska connected to high-speed internet. That statement came on the heels of President Trump announcing that the FCC has planned a forthcoming vote to invest $162 million in Alaska broadband. Burgum and Lutnick’s remarks likewise focused on what they believe the administration has accomplished, including the Alaska LNG pipeline and negotiations with South Korea. In referring to their official work, these agency heads leaned on their official roles to support their political activity.

“This administration keeps testing the boundaries of our democratic guardrails, and this is just the latest example,” said Amb. Norman L. Eisen (ret.), executive chair and co-founder of Democracy Defenders Fund. “There are laws about what political appointees can and cannot do. Appointees can’t just mix official and political activity, and they can’t lean on their official responsibilities to support a political candidate.”

The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from using their official authority to influence an election. The OSC has long advised that cabinet officials speaking in a personal capacity for partisan political purposes should avoid discussing their agencies’ work, the complaint states.

“Brendan Carr has annihilated any sense of independence the FCC once had, turning it into a political weapon to punish anyone President Trump sees as an enemy,” said Clayton Weimers, executive director of Reporters Without Borders North America. “Carr’s participation in particular: Carr’s participation in a political rally in the lead-up to the midterms is a shocking new low for his politicization of the office. He must face sanctions for this obvious Hatch Act violation.”

Read the full complaint here.

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