On Oct. 15, the non-partisan group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a complaint against Jen Psaki, the Press Secretary for President Joe Biden. They criticized Psaki over her comments on Oct. 14 regarding the upcoming gubernatorial election in Virginia. CREW quoted a portion of her answer in their complaint.
“I think the President of course wants former Governor McAuliffe to be the future governor of Virginia. There is alignment on a lot of their agenda, whether it is the need to invest in rebuilding our roads, rails and bridges, or making it easier for women to rejoin the workforce,” said Psaki. “We’re going to do everything we can to help former Governor McAuliffe, and we believe in the agenda he’s representing.”
CREW cited the Hatch Act as reason for the complaint. The Hatch Act passed in 1939 as a way of encouraging non-partisanship by restricting certain federal employees from making political statements in their public position, and to ensure candidates for federal office are advanced based on merit and not political affiliation. The Hatch Act is also intended to reduce the use of public resources for political ends.
There have been criticisms of the Hatch Act, as some argue that it restricts the right to free speech. Since this restriction only applies to federal employees, who voluntarily agree to work for the federal government, this is not a violation of the right to free speech. A private employer may fire an employee if they consistently use vulgar or offensive language or support issues which are contradictory to the organization’s values. Since employment is voluntary, this does not violate free speech in the private or public sphere.
The Biden and Trump presidencies have both had accusations of Hatch Act violations. People may disagree whether it is a good policy or not, but it does not violate the principle of free speech.
