cardona
Watchdog Group Accuses Education Secretary Cardona Of Sending Anti-Republican Email In His Official Capacity

July 24, 2024

By Matthew Holloway |

On Thursday, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), a non-partisan ethics watchdog group filed a complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel under The Hatch Act of 1939 against Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. FACT has alleged that Cardona violated the Act by sending out a political email to federal student loan borrowers in his official capacity. The HATCH Act of 1939 limits certain political activities of federal employees to protect federal employees from political coercion in the workplace.

According to a press release from FACT, an email sent in July 2024 to an estimated 43 million “citizens who are federal student loan borrowers,” originated from an official government email address, was written on an official Department of Education letterhead, and was signed by Cardona with his official title. The foundation noted, “This type of political advocacy from the government targeting citizens who interact with an agency is exactly the type of politicization the Hatch Act is designed to prevent.”

Kendra Arnold, Executive Director of FACT, said in a statement, “Secretary Cardona appears to have been caught making an overtly political pitch to student loan borrowers in an election year. The uniqueness and magnitude also need to be noted, as this case goes far beyond a standard Hatch Act violation of making a political remark while appearing in an official capacity.

What looks to have happened here is an extremely partisan message was widely distributed using data the federal government had compiled on citizens who have student loans—a universe that could be 43 million people. ​We urge the Office of Special Counsel to immediately act and investigate whether Secretary Cardona violated the Hatch Act and, if so, the true scope of it.”

In the text of the email from Cardona, revealed by FACT, several statements from Cardona are explicitly political in nature, addressing Republicans as adversaries to the department. For example:

  • “Republican elected officials who are siding with special interests and trying to block Americans from accessing all the benefits of the most affordable student loan repayment plan in history . . .”
  • “President Biden and I are determined to lower costs for student loan borrowers, to make repaying student debt affordable and realistic, and to build on our separate efforts that have already provided relief to 4.75 million Americans – no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stop us.”
  • “While we disagree with the Republican elected officials’ efforts here to side with special interests and block borrowers from getting breathing room on their student loans . . .”

The complaint submitted by FACT lays out the HATCH Act case against Cardona clearly and in simple terms: “(1) the email was a blatant political communication and (2) it was sent in Cardona’s official capacity using taxpayer funded resources.” In campaign or marketing terms, the email list owned and maintained by the Department of Education is a resource that is potentially worth billions of dollars and is off-limits for anything but official government use. As Arnold noted, “the email sent by Cardona was a blatant political communication. When read in its entirety it is clear the only purpose for sending the letter was a political one and its content was primarily political. The email made political arguments and numerous times specifically identified the political party by name that Cardona opposes in a disparaging manner to generate opposition to the political candidates and party.”

As reported by The Daily Mail, the modern interpretation of the HATCH Act prohibits the sending or forwarding of partisan political emails while an official is on duty or in the workplace or even engaging in political activity like attending a meeting while in uniform or driving a government vehicle.

Arnold writing on behalf of FACT concluded, “While this is an obvious case simply based upon the facts above, it goes far beyond the standard violation of just making a political remark while appearing in an official capacity. While he certainly did make a political remark in his official capacity, he also proactively used data the government had on student loan borrowers for political purposes. Quite clearly this is a severe breach of the citizens’ trust and is inexcusable.

The government endorsement of a political position and use of taxpayer funded resources to do so is the exact political behavior that is forbidden by the Hatch Act.”

Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.

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