March

16, 2018

Mr. Henry Kerner
Special Counsel
U.S. Office of Special Counsel
1730 M Street, N.W., Suite 218
Washington, DC 20036-4505

Dear Mr. Kerner,

Allied Progress respectfully requests that the Office of Special Counsel (“OSC”) open an investigation
into John “Mick” Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”), and any other
federal employees who may have been involved in the posting of a tweet which included Trump
campaign branding from an official government account, using Mulvaney’s official government title –
a clear violation of the Hatch Act.

On March 15, 2018, OMB’s official, verified, Twitter account (@OMBPress) posted a tweet1 declaring
the Director’s support for recently named National Economic Council Director, conservative
television personality Larry Kudlow. The tweet included the hashtag “#MAGAnomics” and referred to
Director Mulvaney by his official title.

The inclusion of the “#MAGAnomics” hashtag constitutes prohibited political activity under the Hatch
Act, which bars executive branch employees from using their “official authority or influence for the
purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election.”2 Under this prohibition, an official
may not “us[e] his or her official title while participating in political activity,”3 which is defined as
“activity directed toward the success or failure of a political party, candidate for partisan political
office, or partisan political group.”4

The Office of Special Council’s “Updated Hatch Act Guidance for Federal Employees After President
Trump Becomes Candidate for Reelection,” released on March 5, 2018, specifically prohibits federal
employees “while on duty or in the workplace” from the use of “hashtags such as #MAGA… in social
media posts or other forums.”5

The use of the hashtag #MAGAnomics, demonstrates a flagrant and perhaps intentional violation of
this prohibition and Allied Progress requests an investigation into this matter.

Sincerely,


Karl Frisch
Executive Director
Allied Progress


1 @OMBPress, “Director Mulvaney's statement on Larry Kudlow joining President Trump's administration as Director of the

National Economic Council,” Twitter.com, 03/15/18.

2 5 U.S.C. § 7323(a).
3 5 C.F.R. § 734.302(b)(1).
4 5 C.F.R. § 734.101.
5 “Updated Guidance Regarding the Hatch Act and President Donald Trump Now That He Is Officially a Candidate for

Reelection,” US Office of Special Counsel, 03/05/18.

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https://twitter.com/OMBPress/status/974290512470519808