Cabinet members are collecting ethics complaints in the final days of the 2026 midterm campaign, which raises a question the filings themselves rarely answer: what Hatch Act penalties could an official actually face if found to have broken the law? As of Oct. 28, the answer for the most senior officials is narrower than the law’s penalty list suggests. The statute allows removal, suspension and fines, but for anyone confirmed by the Senate, the only person who can impose any of it is the president.
That matters because most of the senior officials accused in 2026 are Senate-confirmed appointees, and, per The New York Times, administration representatives describe the filings as politically motivated and their officials’ conduct as lawful. No complaint filed during the 2026 campaign has produced a published OSC finding of a violation.
Where it stands: OSC, the independent prosecutor for these cases, keeps winning Hatch Act penalties against rank-and-file employees, most recently in five settlements announced Sept. 30. On senior appointees, Government Executive found no sign of any OSC finding as of mid-September.
What are the Hatch Act penalties?
The menu in 5 U.S.C. 7326 runs from a letter of reprimand to removal, and the penalties can be stacked. Since a 2017 amendment, the law allows “any combination” of them.
| Penalty | Limit |
|---|---|
| Removal from federal service | Most serious penalty |
| Debarment from federal jobs | Up to five years |
| Reduction in grade | Set case by case |
| Suspension without pay | Set case by case |
| Reprimand | Least serious discipline |
| Civil fine | Statute says $1,000; adjusted cap is $1,365 |
Until the Hatch Act Modernization Act of 2012, the choice was starker. The old statute required removal unless the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) unanimously found that a violation did not warrant it, and even then the minimum was 30 days’ suspension without pay. Congress replaced that with the current range, and the Senate committee’s report said it expected the board to weigh “the severity of the violation and other aggravating or mitigating factors” when picking a penalty.
Is the Hatch Act fine $1,000 or $1,365?
Both numbers appear in official sources; $1,365 is the current ceiling. The statute’s text still caps the civil penalty at “not to exceed $1,000,” but federal inflation-adjustment law requires the MSPB to raise it.
The board’s 2025 adjustment, published in the Federal Register in July 2025, set the figure this way: “the new maximum penalty under the CSRA and the Hatch Act is $1,330 × 1.02598 = $1,365.00.” The electronic Code of Federal Regulations, as updated through late October 2026, still lists a cap “not to exceed $1,365.” News stories citing a $1,000 maximum are quoting the statute, not the adjusted rule.
Who enforces the Hatch Act against ordinary federal employees?
OSC investigates and prosecutes; the MSPB decides. For most of the workforce, OSC files a complaint with the board, which, as a 2012 Senate report put it, “decides whether a violation occurred and, if so, determines the penalty.” Employees who contest the charge get their case heard, either by the board itself or by one of its judges.
Many cases never reach a hearing. In fiscal 2025, OSC reported 777 advisory opinions, 94 warning letters and 13 disciplinary actions obtained “either through negotiation or MSPB orders.” The 2026 record shows the range. In August, OSC charged two workers, one at USPS and one at the VA, alleging that each ran for partisan office and solicited political contributions despite warnings from OSC; Special Counsel Charles Baldis called candidacy violations “black letter law.” On Sept. 30, it announced settlements under which a VA staffer will retire and is barred from seeking federal jobs for at least four years, while employees at the IRS, VA, FBI and State Department accepted unpaid suspensions of up to 10 days.
Who can punish a cabinet secretary under the Hatch Act?
The president, and no one else. Under 5 U.S.C. 1215(b), when the accused is a Senate-confirmed policy official, OSC’s complaint and the official’s answer go “to the President for appropriate action” instead of to the MSPB. There is no hearing and no board ruling.
OSC described the practical result in a 2021 report: for such appointees, it “may only submit a report to the president.” What happens next is the president’s call. Kellyanne Conway, then counselor to President Trump, is the best-known example. After OSC recommended her removal in 2019, Trump said he would not fire her, and OSC’s report two years later said he “not only refused to act but publicly defended Ms. Conway.” Our Conway explainer covers that case.
Money can also come into play. OSC’s 2021 report said it told Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to reimburse the Treasury for a political speech on official travel and that it had “no evidence that Secretary Perdue has reimbursed the U.S.” Who pays for campaign travel today is covered in our explainer on who covers the cost of cabinet campaign trips.
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Is a Hatch Act violation a crime?
No. Its sanctions are administrative and civil; there is no jail time in 5 U.S.C. 7326. Some conduct can also fall under separate criminal statutes in Title 18, which are enforced by the Justice Department rather than OSC.
Campaign Legal Center’s Oct. 7 complaint over taxpayer-funded ads, for example, accuses six officials of “violating both the Hatch Act and criminal law,” citing a federal law against coercing employees’ political activity. That is CLC’s allegation; the officials have not been charged, and the filing itself reproduces a Sept. 25 statement in which the White House insisted the ads “are very clearly not campaign ads.” Our complaints tracker lists each filing.
What would reform bills change about Hatch Act penalties?
Democratic bills would let OSC take senior appointees to the MSPB and raise fines sharply. None has passed.
The 2019 Presidential Appointee Accountability Act proposed “a fine of up to $10,000 per Hatch Act violation.” Rep. Jamie Raskin’s H.R. 8831, introduced on May 14, 2026 under the title Protecting Our Democracy Act, includes a “Hatch Act Accountability Act” that would let the board “impose an assessment of a civil penalty not to exceed $50,000” on a political appointee. It would also create a crime for anyone who “knowingly violates section 7323 or 7324,” carrying a $50,000 fine, a prison term of as much as one year, or both. It has not been enacted. Our explainer on Hatch Act reform tracks its sponsors and prospects. Under the law in force on Oct. 28, OSC’s most recent public penalty announcement was the set of five rank-and-file settlements it released on Sept. 30.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the maximum fine for a Hatch Act violation?
Written into the statute as $1,000, the cap is raised for inflation by MSPB rule; the figure now on the books is $1,365.
Is prison possible for a Hatch Act violation?
Not under the Hatch Act itself, which carries only administrative and civil penalties. Separate federal criminal laws can apply to some conduct, such as coercing employees to engage in politics.
Who enforces the Hatch Act?
OSC investigates and brings the charges. The Merit Systems Protection Board decides cases against most employees; the president decides what happens to Senate-confirmed appointees.
Has a cabinet secretary ever lost the job over a Hatch Act finding?
Not in the OSC records reviewed for this article. OSC findings against cabinet secretaries, from Kathleen Sebelius in 2012 to Xavier Becerra in 2023, went to the president, and none ended in removal.
Can a former official be punished for a Hatch Act violation?
Sometimes. An MSPB judge ruled in 2025 that the board can hear complaints against former employees. But when OSC reported on 13 departed Trump officials in 2021, Reuters reported, OSC said discipline was no longer possible because they had left office.
Sources
- 5 U.S.C. Chapter 73, Subchapter III: Political Activities (including 5 U.S.C. 7326, Penalties) — U.S. Government Publishing Office (govinfo), 2023 edition
- 5 CFR 1201.126: Final decisions — eCFR (Office of the Federal Register), current as of October 27, 2026
- Merit Systems Protection Board: Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustment (2025) — Federal Register (public inspection), July 2025
- 5 U.S. Code § 1215 – Disciplinary action — Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, accessed October 28, 2026
- Senate Report 112-211, Hatch Act Modernization Act of 2012 — U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (govinfo), September 13, 2012
- Investigation of Political Activities by Senior Trump Administration Officials During the 2020 Presidential Election — U.S. Office of Special Counsel, November 9, 2021
- Trump says he won’t fire Conway over Hatch Act violations — Associated Press (via KSL.com), June 14, 2019
- OSC Announces Settlements in Five Hatch Act Cases and Files Complaint Against Another Federal Employee — U.S. Office of Special Counsel, September 30, 2026
- OSC Files Disciplinary Action Complaints Against Two Federal Employees for Serious Hatch Act Violations — U.S. Office of Special Counsel, August 20, 2026
- Annual Report to Congress for Fiscal Year 2025 — U.S. Office of Special Counsel, May 2026
- H.R. 8831, Protecting Our Democracy Act (Introduced in House) — U.S. Government Publishing Office (govinfo), May 14, 2026
- Blumenthal, Speier, Raskin & DeSaulnier Introduce Legislation to Rein in Illegal Political Activity by Presidential Appointees — Office of Rep. Jamie Raskin, June 2019
- Hatch Act complaints against Trump officials continue to pile up as investigations go on for nearly a year — Government Executive, September 14, 2026
- Hatch Act complaint to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel regarding political television advertisements — Campaign Legal Center, October 7, 2026
- Cabinet Officials on the Campaign Trail? Ethics Experts Say Some Are Breaking the Law. — The New York Times, October 28, 2026
- Office of Special Counsel resumes Hatch Act enforcement against former feds for violations during their service — Government Executive, December 29, 2025
- Trump advisers illegally campaigned while in office, government report finds — Reuters (via KSL.com), November 9, 2021
This article is news reporting and analysis based on the public sources listed above, as they stood on the dates shown. Where officials, lawmakers or analysts disagree, including on whether an action is lawful, their positions are attributed to them; Donald Trump Class Action is not a court and nothing here is legal advice. Facts in a developing story can change.