Government watchdog reports Navy Secretary violated Hatch Act by promoting Biden reelection bid

The Office of the Special Counsel (OSC) on Thursday found that Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro violated the Hatch Act by seemingly promoting the reelection of President Joe Biden. 

The Hatch Act forbids government employees from engaging in political activity while on duty or in their official capacity as a federal employee. They also cannot solicit political contributions at any time, and cannot try to sway an election. 

The OSC sent a report to Biden on their findings regarding Del Toro, concluding he violated the law during an interview with the BBC and in comments while speaking abroad when representing the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).

“I'm confident that the American people will step up to the plate come November and support President Biden for a second term as our Commander-in-Chief, so that we can continue to work together as free democratic countries respect each other around the globe," Del Toro said when speaking on behalf of the DoD, according to an OSC news release.

Del Toro also told a BBC reporter that he believed Biden has displayed strong and mature leadership over the past four years and that the U.S. deserves the same leadership to continue through Biden.

Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger said that Del Toro flagged his comments for the OSC, and the secretary noted that his comments were not pre-planned.

“When speaking in his official capacity on a taxpayer-funded trip, Secretary Del Toro encouraged electoral support for one candidate over another in the upcoming presidential election,"  Dellinger said in a statement. "By doing so, he crossed a legal line and violated the Hatch Act. 

"This is especially troubling because Secretary Del Toro has himself acknowledged that military work and partisan politics should not be mixed," he continued. "As he stated just this past July: 'It is more important than ever for us to remember that the [Department of the Navy] is an apolitical body… Public trust and confidence depend on this.'"

The OSC also reviewed other possible Hatch Act violations, and found that Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and former Attorney General Bill Barr did not violate the Hatch Act. It also ruled that Project 2025 did not violate the Hatch Act, nor did posting signs regarding certain legislation. 

"OSC has concluded that associating legislation with a particular president is not, by itself, political activity prohibited by the Hatch Act," the office said. "Accordingly, OSC has closed these cases without finding violations."

The OSC did find two employees violated the Hatch Act by soliciting political contributions through social media. In both cases, the employees admitted the violation and accepted a brief unpaid suspension from their posts.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.