Watchdog Alleges Hatch Act Violation Over ‘Kamala Wins’ X Account

The Hatch Act, which became law in 1939, prohibits federal workers from conducting partisan political activities on official time.

Signage is seen outside of the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington, on Aug. 31, 2020. Andrew Kelly/Reuters

WASHINGTON—A watchdog complaint alleges that a Biden administration official violated federal ethics law by actively maintaining a “Kamala Wins” X account supporting Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign earlier this year.

Ethan Wolf was named in a Hatch Act Complaint filed with the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) by the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) on Dec. 11. It alleges that the communications specialist at the International Trade Commission (ITC) repeatedly posted “blatant political content during the government workday” on the X account.

Zachary Kurz, an OSC spokesman, confirmed to The Epoch Times that the FACT complaint had been filed, and said that Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger could not comment on the case.

The Hatch Act, which became law in 1939, prohibits federal workers from conducting partisan political activities on official time, while on government property, or in any other public setting that could be construed as an endorsement of a particular candidate.

A government employee covered by the Hatch Act “is strictly prohibited from making political social media posts during work hours or while in government buildings,” the FACT complaint stated.

“Yet, a political account directly controlled by Wolf (‘Kamala’s Wins’) and potentially several other accounts (under the ’Democratic Wins Media' umbrella) were actively posting political content during federal government workdays,” the complaint continued.

Wolf did not respond to a request for comment sent on LinkedIn by press time. No other contact could be found for him.

The X account was titled “Biden Wins” prior to President Joe Biden’s July decision to withdraw his candidacy for a second term and endorse Harris, who was then selected as the party’s nominee by the Democratic National Convention in August.

Wolf was appointed in 2023 to the ITC position as a Schedule C political appointee.

Political appointees, unlike career employees, can be fired at will, but they are covered fully by the Hatch Act.

Wolf said, according to the complaint, to not be the sole poster on the “Kamala Wins” X account. “He has not provided any details about his work with the account or who was actually making the posts and when. The account continued to be active at all times of the day and posted blatant political content during the government workday,” the complaint alleged.

Second Complaint in Months

In November, the OSC filed a Hatch Act complaint with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) against Neera Tanden, Biden’s White House Domestic Policy Adviser.

The OSC said that on Aug. 30, 2024, Tanden took down an X post she had put up the day before, encouraging contributions to Democratic congressional candidates.

“On August 30, OSC attorneys conveyed that Ms. Tanden’s post violated the Hatch Act, and she promptly removed the post from her X account. However, less than one week later, Tanden again solicited political contributions and continued to do so throughout September,” the OSC said.