The New York Times reported on Oct. 28, 2026, that “at least nine of 15 cabinet secretaries” plus other senior deputies now face formal Hatch Act complaints. Those are accusations, and none has produced a finding. Looked at across both terms, the Trump Hatch Act record splits into a first term with formal findings and a second term, so far, with complaints only.
Where it stands: As of mid-September, OSC, the independent office charged with policing the 1939 law, “does not appear to have issued any findings yet” on senior second-term appointees, Government Executive wrote on Sept. 14. The agency would not comment for the Times story.
The administration disputes the new complaints. Spokespeople for the White House and the agencies told the Times the filings are a partisan effort to hurt Republicans, and they insist the officials stayed within the law. A Transportation Department spokesperson called one filing “another baseless political attack,” Government Executive reported.
What Did OSC Find During Trump’s First Term?
OSC made two formal findings against one of Trump’s closest advisers. In March 2018 it sent the President a report “finding that Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway violated the Hatch Act in two television interviews.” OSC said she had a chance to respond and “did not respond.”
The second report, released in June 2019, went further and recommended her removal. It said: “Her defiant attitude is inimical to the law, and her continued pattern of misconduct is unacceptable.” OSC later wrote that this was the first time it had ever recommended that a president remove a presidential appointee.
Trump kept her. He told reporters it looked like “they’re trying to take away her right of free speech,” according to the Associated Press. A White House spokesman had called OSC’s actions “deeply flawed,” and White House Counsel Pat Cipollone sent OSC a written rebuttal, Government Executive reported. The case history is in our Conway explainer.
What Did the 2021 Report Conclude About 13 Officials?
A year after the 2020 election, OSC concluded that “at least 13 senior Trump administration officials did violate the Hatch Act prior to the election.” It also found that hosting the Republican National Convention at the White House was not by itself a violation.
Eleven of the 13 were cited for official interviews or media appearances. The other two were cases OSC examined at length. On Mike Pompeo, then secretary of state, its conclusion was a violation “in two instances,” including his taped convention speech from Jerusalem, noting the State Department had advised him to seek OSC’s guidance and he “never did so.” It reached a similar conclusion about Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf over a naturalization ceremony filmed for the convention. Wolf told OSC he had not known the video would be used there.
The report also covered Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, whom OSC said owed the Treasury reimbursement for a political speech: “To date, OSC has no evidence that Secretary Perdue has reimbursed the U.S.” Reuters reported OSC’s view that, with those officials already out of government, discipline was “no longer possible.” A Trump spokesman did not immediately respond to Reuters at the time.
How Did OSC’s Leadership and Rules Shift After January 2025?
The agency’s leadership turned over almost immediately. Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger, a Biden appointee, received a White House termination notice on Feb. 7, weeks into Trump’s second term, with no reason given, according to Government Executive. A district judge blocked the firing, an appeals court let it proceed, and Dellinger dropped his suit in March 2025.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer was named acting special counsel on March 21, 2025, and OSC staffer Charles Baldis became his designee on April 7, 2025, according to OSC’s annual report. Baldis won Senate confirmation by 51 to 47, along party lines, on Aug. 7, 2026. Details of the firing and the court fight are in our Dellinger explainer.
Policy shifted too. In April 2025, OSC withdrew two 2024 advisory opinions and said it would return to referring violations by White House commissioned officers “to the President for appropriate action.” Before that change, such cases could go to the Merit Systems Protection Board.
How Does the Trump Hatch Act Record Compare Across Two Terms?
In short, the first term produced formal findings that went unpunished, while the second has produced more complaints and, so far, no findings against senior officials.
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| Question | First term (2017-21) | Second term (2025-26) |
|---|---|---|
| OSC findings on senior officials | Conway (2018, 2019); 13 officials in a 2021 report | None reported as of Oct. 28, 2026 |
| White House reaction | Trump kept Conway; aides called OSC’s process flawed | Complaints called politically motivated |
| OSC leadership | Issued the Conway findings | Head fired Feb. 2025; acting leaders until Aug. 2026 |
| Hatch Act complaints to OSC | Not compared here | 694 in FY2025, up from 458 in FY2024 |
| Rank-and-file cases | Not compared here | MSPB complaints and settlements in 2026 |
The biggest test of the new OSC came from the 2025 shutdown, when agency websites and emails blamed Democrats. On Sept. 25, 2026, OSC said agencies had reasonably relied on its own 2024 advice, so “disciplinary action is neither warranted nor appropriate.” It made “no final determination” on the messages. It also issued new guidance: references to a party that are “gratuitous, made close to an election, and framed as an attack on a party are likely to be political activity.” Our shutdown report explainer walks through it.
Who Has Been Accused in 2026, and What Do They Say?
The accused include cabinet secretaries, White House aides and law-enforcement officials, and every one of them is accused, not found in violation. CREW, a watchdog that has filed many of the complaints, told OSC in August that the agency had opened investigations into six senior officials, five of them pending “more than 10 months,” Government Executive reported.
CREW also makes a comparison of its own: it says “at least 16 different Trump administration officials committed Hatch Act violations” in the month before the 2020 election. That figure is CREW’s count, not an OSC finding. The officials named this year, and their responses, are in our overview of the cabinet complaints.
Is OSC Still Enforcing the Hatch Act Against Anyone?
Yes, against career employees. OSC says it received 694 new Hatch Act complaints in fiscal 2025, compared with 458 the year before. On Aug. 20 this year, it filed Merit Systems Protection Board complaints against two employees accused of running for partisan office and soliciting contributions despite warnings, Government Executive reported.
CREW argues that the contrast is the problem. Its president, Donald Sherman, wrote that compliance “cannot thrive” if powerful officials “are allowed to skirt the law while their subordinates are punished for similar activity.” Agencies have answered individual complaints by saying officials spoke in a personal capacity or were cleared by lawyers or ethics officials, according to the Times and Government Executive. Baldis has led OSC as a confirmed special counsel since Aug. 7, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Trump officials violate the Hatch Act in his first term?
OSC concluded they did. It found Kellyanne Conway in violation in 2018 and 2019, and OSC concluded in November 2021 that at least 13 senior aides crossed the line in the months before the 2020 vote. None was disciplined.
Has anyone in Trump’s second term been found to violate the Hatch Act?
No senior official, as of Oct. 28, 2026. Complaints have been filed against several cabinet members, but no OSC finding on a senior appointee had been reported. OSC has pursued cases against lower-level employees.
Is President Trump himself covered by the Hatch Act?
He is not. The statute’s definition of a covered employee excludes the President and the Vice President. It does apply to cabinet secretaries and White House staff.
Who leads OSC today?
Charles Baldis. Senators approved him 51 to 47 in August 2026. He had already been running the agency since spring 2025 while serving as Jamieson Greer’s designee.
Why did Trump not fire Kellyanne Conway?
Trump said in June 2019 that OSC appeared to be trying to take away her right of free speech. The White House counsel also sent OSC a rebuttal of its findings.
Sources
- Cabinet Officials on the Campaign Trail? Ethics Experts Say Some Are Breaking the Law. — The New York Times, October 28, 2026
- OSC Concludes Hatch Act Investigation of Kellyanne Conway, Finds Two Violations, and Refers Findings to President — U.S. Office of Special Counsel, March 6, 2018
- Report of Prohibited Political Activity Under the Hatch Act (Kellyanne Conway) — U.S. Office of Special Counsel, May 30, 2019
- Trump says he won’t fire Conway over Hatch Act violations — Associated Press (via KSL.com), June 14, 2019
- Special Counsel Calls for Firing of Kellyanne Conway to Enforce Hatch Act — Government Executive, June 13, 2019
- Investigation of Political Activities by Senior Trump Administration Officials During the 2020 Presidential Election — U.S. Office of Special Counsel, November 9, 2021
- Trump advisers illegally campaigned while in office, government report finds — Reuters (via KSL.com), November 9, 2021
- Official who safeguards whistleblowers drops lawsuit protesting his firing by Trump — Government Executive, March 6, 2025
- Annual Report to Congress for Fiscal Year 2025 — U.S. Office of Special Counsel, May 2026
- OSC Announces Updates to Hatch Act Enforcement, Rescinds Past Advisory Opinions — U.S. Office of Special Counsel, April 25, 2025
- OSC Delivers Exceptional Performance in Fiscal Year 2025 — U.S. Office of Special Counsel, December 23, 2025
- Key oversight and federal workforce nominees confirmed by Senate — Government Executive, August 7, 2026
- Hatch Act Assessment and Advisory: Partisan Agency Communications During the 2025 Lapse in Appropriations — U.S. Office of Special Counsel, September 25, 2026
- ‘Glaring violations’ of the Hatch Act by senior Trump officials have gone unpunished for months, good government group alleges — Government Executive, August 21, 2026
- Hatch Act complaints against Trump officials continue to pile up as investigations go on for nearly a year — Government Executive, September 14, 2026
- The Trump administration’s midterms Hatch Act violation rampage — Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (advocacy group), October 2026
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.