Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra violated a law that restricts political activities of federal employees when he advocated for the election of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) at a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute event in the fall, the Office of Special Counsel has determined.
In a letter Tuesday relaying the finding to President Biden, Special Counsel Henry J. Kerner said that Becerra had violated the Hatch Act when he spoke “in his official capacity” at the institute’s annual awards gala in September.
“The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from using their official authority or influence to affect the outcome of an election,” Kerner said. “In delivering his speech, Secretary Becerra impermissibly mixed his personal electoral preference with official remarks. While federal employees are permitted to express support for candidates when speaking in their personal capacity, the Hatch Act restricts employees from doing so when speaking as a government official.”
In a response to the findings, Becerra said he regretted what he described as an “inadvertent violation.”
“While I did not realize at the time that my off-the-cuff remarks concerning my personal voting intentions were in violation of the Hatch Act, I now understand why they were not permitted,” he said.
Becerra added that he had received “additional counseling” on the Hatch Act from his department’s ethics division and that he would “work hard to ensure that there are no future violations.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) appointed Padilla to the Senate to replace Kamala D. Harris after she became vice president. Padilla won election in 2022.
Under most legal interpretations of the Hatch Act, the president in office at the time is the only person who can take action to fire or reprimand his political appointees when they act illegally.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report on Becerra.
During the presidency of Donald Trump, numerous administration officials violated the Hatch Act without consequence.
In just one episode, Kerner’s office found that at least 13 senior Trump administration officials illegally mixed governing with campaigning before the 2020 election.
That report described a “willful disregard for the law” that was “especially pernicious,” given that many officials abused their government roles days before the November election.
“This failure to impose discipline created the conditions for what appeared to be a taxpayer-funded campaign apparatus within the upper echelons of the executive branch,” investigators wrote in a report.