Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue violated a 1939 law against politicking on the job when he urged the re-election of President Trump at a produce packing house in North Carolina on Aug. 24 and must reimburse the government “for the costs associated with his political activity,” said the U.S. Office of Special Counsel on Thursday. Trump announced an additional $1 billion for the administration’s food box giveaway program at the packing house a few hours after he was nominated for a second term.
Reimbursement would “cure” the violation and result in closure of the matter, said the office, an independent federal agency that oversees ethics and civil service rules. A USDA spokesperson was not immediately available for comment on the ruling or Perdue’s plans.
“This was one of the most shameless examples of the Trump administration’s escalating abuse of taxpayer resources to try to re-elect the most corrupt president in history,” said Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), the good-government group that filed the ethics complaint against Perdue.
During a presidential visit to Flavor 1st Growers and Packers in Mills River, North Carolina, Perdue said the Farmers to Families Food Box program was “an outpouring of compassion. … And that’s what’s going to continue to happen — four more years — if America gets out and votes for this man, Donald J. Trump.” The audience outside the packing shed applauded and chanted, “Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!”
Perdue built up to that moment by saying the people who watched Trump’s motorcade to the packing house “were a part of the forgotten people who voted for you in 2016. And I’ve got better news for you: They and many others are going to vote for you for four more years in 2020.”
In a letter to CREW, Ana Galindo-Marrone, head of the Hatch Act Unit at the special counsel’s office, said Perdue had violated Hatch Act prohibitions against using a government office to influence an election. “Because he was on taxpayer-funded travel when he engaged in the political activity at issue, the U.S. Treasury must be reimbursed for the costs associated with his political activity.” The counsel’s office did not suggest what the amount should be.
“Government officials in appointed, cabinet-level positions like Secretary Perdue should know better than to abuse their official capacity at the expense of American taxpayers,” said six House Democrats in a statement. The Democrats, who included some of the staunchest congressional advocates of public nutrition programs, criticized the administration for requiring that the food boxes include a letter signed by Trump, claiming credit for the food.
“The intent to use emergency pandemic assistance to sway voters is not lost on anyone,” said the Democrats. The food box is the administration’s $4 billion response to hunger during the pandemic. Nearly 103 million of the boxes have been delivered, according to the USDA agency overseeing the program. Early this year, the White House proposed narrowing eligibility for SNAP, the largest federal anti-hunger program, and has opposed proposals for a temporary increase in benefits during the pandemic. More than 43 million people are receiving food stamps, at latest count.
USDA lawyers argued that Perdue’s comments were harmless observations rather than advocacy for a political candidate. The special counsel said Perdue clearly encouraged people to vote for Trump.
Federal employees who violate the Hatch Act face discipline ranging from a suspension or reprimand to loss of their jobs. In cases involving high-level political appointees, such as cabinet members, the counsel’s office presents its recommendation for action to the president.
Trump has shown little interest in enforcing the ethics law against his appointees. The special counsel’s office recommended in June 2019 that White House counselor Kellyanne Conway “be removed from federal service” because of repeated violations of the Hatch Act. The next day, Trump said, “It looks like they are trying to take away her right of free speech, and that’s just not fair,” so Conway stayed on the payroll until she left of her own accord this summer.
CREW says its complaints “have led to an unprecedented number of Trump administration officials being reprimanded for Hatch Act violations.”
To read the letter from the special counsel’s office on Perdue, click here.
A C-SPAN video of remarks by Perdue and President Trump at the packing shed is available here.