At least nine of the 15 cabinet secretaries have been formally accused of Hatch Act violations in recent months, according to a New York Times report published Oct. 28, less than a week before Election Day on Nov. 3. The Hatch Act cabinet complaints were filed by watchdog and advocacy groups. As of Oct. 28, none had produced a finding by the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), an independent federal agency charged with enforcing the 1939 law, by the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) or by any court.
The Times did not publish its list of nine. Working only from complaints that the filing groups made public or that news outlets reported, we found complaints naming the heads of Interior, Commerce, Transportation, Defense, Justice, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Treasury and Agriculture. That is our own tally, sourced line by line below; it is not the Times’ list.
The administration disputes all of them. Representatives for the White House and the agencies “contend that the complaints are politically motivated to hurt Republicans and that officials’ activities comply with the law,” the Times reported, and several departments say their secretaries appeared only in a personal capacity.
Where it stands: The only 2026 complaint that OSC is publicly reported to have resolved concerns Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s appearance at a Kentucky rally; OSC closed it without action. Asked by the Times about the rest, an OSC spokeswoman declined to comment.
What are cabinet officials accused of doing?
Every complaint makes a version of the same claim: that an official blended a government job with partisan campaigning, by appearing under an official title, promoting department work at a candidate’s event or drawing on agency resources. Each one is an allegation that OSC has not ruled on.
Transportation. Democracy Defenders Fund (DDF), an advocacy legal group critical of the administration, filed a complaint on Sept. 10 against Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy over “an August speech he gave at a super PAC event supporting GOP candidates in Michigan,” Government Executive reported. The Times reported that Duffy personally endorsed Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers; other outlets had not independently tied the complaint to Rogers as of Oct. 28. A Transportation Department spokesperson called the filing “another baseless political attack” and said Duffy took part in his personal capacity.
Interior and Commerce. In a letter dated Oct. 16, DDF and Reporters Without Borders asked OSC to examine what Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr said on stage with Sen. Dan Sullivan at his Oct. 13 Wasilla, Alaska, rally. The letter states that “Neither Secretary Burgum nor Secretary Lutnick stated that they were speaking in their personal capacities.” Interior’s position, given to the Times, is that Burgum attended in a personal capacity and that the filing is baseless and politically motivated; the paper got no answer from Commerce or the FCC.
Defense. The Steady State, an organization of former national security officials, has filed two complaints about Hegseth: one over a May 18 rally in Kentucky for Ed Gallrein, who was then challenging Rep. Thomas Massie in a Republican primary, and one over an Aug. 17 fundraiser in Iowa for Rep. Zach Nunn. The Iowa complaint is dated Sept. 11. Asked by the Times, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, Sean Parnell, said the secretary’s appearances were “thoroughly vetted and cleared by lawyers,” wording Parnell also used in a May statement, reported by Newsweek, before the Kentucky rally.
Justice. Public Citizen asked OSC in August to investigate Attorney General Todd Blanche’s Aug. 14 speech at a Long Island rally for Bruce Blakeman, the Republican nominee for New York governor. On Oct. 13, DDF filed a second complaint naming Blanche, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, immigration agency director Joseph Edlow and others over the Oct. 12 search of the Washington, D.C., home of Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat; DDF says Homeland Security Investigations agents carried it out. The Justice Department said the search was “part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.” Omar calls it political intimidation and denies wrongdoing, and no charge against her has been reported; our Omar complaint explainer has the details. A Blanche representative told the Times that his political appearances are reviewed and cleared by department ethics officials and made in a personal capacity, and that the search timing complied with Justice Department policy.
Homeland Security, HHS, Treasury and Agriculture. CREW (the group’s full name is Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington) has lodged complaints over Mullin’s remarks at a Sept. 12 fundraiser for Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and during an Oct. 21 Fox News interview, and against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, according to CREW’s running list. Campaign Legal Center (CLC) also named Mullin in an Oct. 7 complaint over taxpayer-funded TV ads featuring President Trump. Mullin’s representative told the Times he follows all ethics and conflict-of-interest rules. We found no individual responses from Kennedy, Bessent or Rollins.
Which Hatch Act cabinet complaints are on file?
Nine department heads appear in at least one publicly reported 2025-26 complaint. The table lists each one with the department’s stated position. Our full complaints tracker adds the White House, FBI and other officials.
| Secretary | Complaint (filer, date) | Department’s position |
|---|---|---|
| Burgum, Interior | DDF and RSF, Oct. 16 letter | Personal capacity; baseless |
| Lutnick, Commerce | DDF and RSF, Oct. 16 letter | No reply to the Times |
| Duffy, Transportation | DDF, Sept. 10 | Baseless; personal capacity |
| Hegseth, Defense | Steady State, Kentucky (closed) and Iowa | Vetted and cleared by lawyers |
| Blanche, Justice | Public Citizen, August; DDF, Oct. 13 | Ethics-cleared; personal capacity |
| Mullin, Homeland Security | CREW (two); CLC, Oct. 7; DDF, Oct. 13 | Follows all ethics rules |
| Kennedy, HHS | CREW, October | None found |
| Bessent, Treasury | CREW, 2025 and October | None found |
| Rollins, Agriculture | CREW, October | None found |
What does the Hatch Act let a cabinet secretary do?
A cabinet secretary may campaign, including during the workday, but may not use the office to do it. That single line explains nearly every 2026 dispute.
Most federal workers may not engage in political activity on duty, in a federal building or in a government vehicle. Section 7324(b) of the law lifts those limits for Senate-confirmed officials who set national policy, as long as the political costs “are not paid for by money derived from the Treasury of the United States.” It does not lift Section 7323(a)(1), which bars every covered employee from using “official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election.” In a 2021 report, OSC described that as the rule “for which there are no exemptions for Senate-confirmed presidential appointees.” The two elected executives are not covered at all: the statute’s definition of employee reaches every individual “other than the President and the Vice President.” Our Hatch Act explainer walks through the full rules.
What has the Office of Special Counsel done so far?
On the senior-official complaints, OSC has announced nothing. It has confirmed receiving some filings and says it does not discuss open cases.
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In mid-September, Government Executive reported that the agency “does not appear to have issued any findings yet concerning the potentially prohibited activities of senior administration appointees.” The one known decision is the Kentucky Hegseth complaint. According to The Gazette of Cedar Rapids, OSC closed it the next day, concluding that Hegseth “neither used his official title nor referred to the Department of War” and had said he was there as a private citizen. The Steady State is challenging that closure, the Times reported; other outlets had not independently reported the challenge as of Oct. 28. Our Hegseth complaints explainer covers both filings.
OSC now has a Senate-confirmed leader. Charles Baldis won confirmation in August on a party-line Senate tally of 51-47, per Government Executive, after leading OSC since spring 2025 as the acting chief’s designee. On Sept. 25, OSC said it would discipline no one over more than 1,000 complaints about partisan agency messaging during the 2025 shutdown, and that it “makes no final determination” about those messages.
Who can discipline a cabinet secretary?
Only the president. For Senate-confirmed policy officials, federal law routes OSC’s complaint, together with the official’s answer, “to the President for appropriate action” rather than to the MSPB.
OSC put the consequence bluntly in 2021: for the most senior officials, the law “is only as effective in ensuring a depoliticized federal workforce as the president decides it will be.” The leading precedent involves Trump himself. In 2019, OSC recommended that he remove counselor Kellyanne Conway, the first time it had asked a president to remove a presidential appointee “from federal employment,” and he kept her. The same 2021 report concluded that at least 13 senior Trump officials violated the Act before the 2020 election; all had left government by then. Our guide to Hatch Act penalties explains the fines and the gaps.
What happens before and after Nov. 3?
OSC has given no timetable, and past reports on cabinet secretaries arrived months after the conduct in question. In 2016, for example, its report on HUD Secretary Julián Castro, over an interview given on April 4, 2016, reached President Obama that July.
Complaints are still arriving. The newest cabinet-level entry on CREW’s public list, a complaint against Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, was filed on Oct. 26.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it illegal for a cabinet secretary to campaign for a candidate?
No. Senate-confirmed policy officials may campaign, even during working hours, as long as taxpayers do not cover the political costs. What they may not do is use their official authority or title to influence an election.
Has any cabinet secretary been found to have violated the Hatch Act in 2026?
No. As of Oct. 28, 2026, no finding by the Office of Special Counsel, the Merit Systems Protection Board or a court exists on any 2026 complaint. OSC closed one Kentucky complaint against Pete Hegseth without action.
How many cabinet secretaries face Hatch Act complaints?
The New York Times counted at least nine of 15 but did not name them. Our review of public filings found complaints against the heads of nine departments: Interior, Commerce, Transportation, Defense, Justice, Homeland Security, HHS, Treasury and Agriculture.
Who can punish a cabinet member under the Hatch Act?
The president. The Office of Special Counsel investigates and reports to him; it has no power of its own to punish a Senate-confirmed appointee.
Does the Hatch Act apply to President Trump?
No. The law carves the two nationally elected officials, the President and Vice President, out of the workforce it governs.
Sources
- Cabinet Officials on the Campaign Trail? Ethics Experts Say Some Are Breaking the Law. — The New York Times, October 28, 2026
- Hatch Act complaints against Trump officials continue to pile up as investigations go on for nearly a year — Government Executive, September 14, 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
- Attorney general violated Hatch Act ethics rules, nonprofit says — Government Executive, August 18, 2026
- Key oversight and federal workforce nominees confirmed by Senate — Government Executive, August 7, 2026
- Request for Hatch Act Investigation into High-Level Officials’ Participation in October 13 Campaign Rally for Alaska Senate Candidate Dan Sullivan — Democracy Defenders Fund and Reporters Without Borders, October 16, 2026
- Ethics complaint asks federal office to investigate Pete Hegseth’s appearance at Zach Nunn Iowa fundraiser — The Gazette (via Mason City Globe Gazette), September 2026
- Pentagon Defends Hegseth Stumping for Massie Challenger Amid Hatch Act Violation Claims — Newsweek, May 2026
- Bipartisan Ethics Experts Accuse Trump Officials of Violating Federal Law in Raid on Rep. Omar’s Home — Democracy Defenders Fund, October 13, 2026
- US agents search congresswoman Omar’s home in probe — Australian Associated Press with Reuters, October 13, 2026
- What’s the Hatch Act? Legal Complaint Filed Over Ilhan Omar House Search — Newsweek, October 2026
- Hatch Act complaint to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel regarding political television advertisements — Campaign Legal Center, October 7, 2026
- The Trump administration’s midterms Hatch Act violation rampage — Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, October 2026
- 5 U.S.C. Chapter 73, Subchapter III: Political Activities — U.S. Government Publishing Office (govinfo), 2023 edition
- Investigation of Political Activities by Senior Trump Administration Officials During the 2020 Presidential Election — U.S. Office of Special Counsel, November 9, 2021
- 5 U.S. Code § 1215 – Disciplinary action — Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, accessed October 28, 2026
- Hatch Act Assessment and Advisory: Partisan Agency Communications During the 2025 Lapse in Appropriations — U.S. Office of Special Counsel, September 25, 2026
- Report of Prohibited Political Activity, OSC File No. HA-16-3113 (Julián Castro) — U.S. Office of Special Counsel, July 18, 2016
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.