Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House Press Secretary, is facing accusations of openly breaching the Hatch Act during a recent live interview on MSNBC.
The Hatch Act, enacted in 1939, imposes limitations on certain political activities of federal employees and some state and local employees involved in federally funded programs. Its primary objective is to maintain a federal workforce free from partisan political influence or coercion.
Violation of this law can result in dismissal from federal service or prohibition from federal employment.
During the MSNBC interview, Jean-Pierre overtly advocated for Biden ahead of the upcoming debate, openly praising his leadership and policies while simultaneously criticizing Trump’s administration.
When asked by host Willie Geist about potential criticism from Trump regarding inflation and rising costs in the upcoming presidential debate on Thursday, Jean-Pierre responded during the interview.
Geist: “One of the places [Trump’s] undoubtedly going to go is to inflation, which everybody across the country is feeling, despite all that economic data we talk about all the time that is so strong; the economy is thriving. Talk about things costing too much. He’ll look into the camera, maybe, and say, ‘You know that your cereal costs too much.’ He’ll go down the list of groceries and gas. How will the President address that criticism?”
In response to a question about potential criticism from Trump, Jean-Pierre said:
Jean-Pierre: This is something that we’ve been talking about for some time: the economy. You’re right, the data shows that the economy is indeed strengthening; it’s stronger. We understand that we came out of a pandemic, a once-in-a-century pandemic.
The work that this President did—from the American Rescue Plan to the bipartisan infrastructure legislation to the Inflation Reduction Act—all of these historic pieces of legislation have helped this country get back on its feet. So yes, eggs and milk, and there were grocery things that were up. It has gone down. It has gone down since 2022. Gas prices, because of the actions that this President took.
And let’s not forget, there was an invasion Russia did, obviously, into Ukraine that caused gas prices to tick up. The President took action, tapped the SPR, and we saw gas prices go down. The President has met the moment with every issue that we have had in front of us.
The President obviously talks about that often. He’s going to have another opportunity on Thursday to speak to those issues. And talking about Donald Trump, which I just mentioned, Dobbs’ decision.
The reason why we have chaos right now after the Dobbs’ decision, the reason why after Roe v. Wade was overturned, overturned after being constitutional law for 50 years, is because of what Donald Trump did in his administration. And now IVF is on the line. Contraception is on the line. I was thinking about when I was sitting here before starting this conversation, there are some of us who have young children.
Can you believe that we had more rights growing up than our kids? That’s because of the Trump administration and what they were able to do. So there’s a lot here. There’s a big contrast in what we’re trying to do on behalf of the American people, majority of Americans, what they want to see, and what we see Congressional Republicans, extreme Republicans.
WATCH:
Did she quit her job as Press Secretary? This is a DIRECT violation of the Hatch Act. She is literally campaigning for Biden and AGAINST Trump. That isn't only for the Press Room. She's getting paid by US, the taxpayers. This is NOT okay. Don't pay attention to how bad her… pic.twitter.com/2HugHL3a3U
— Joe Pags Pagliarulo (@JoeTalkShow) June 25, 2024
Talk Show Host Joe Pags Pagliarulo was first to report on this, writing, “Did she quit her job as Press Secretary? This is a DIRECT violation of the Hatch Act. She is literally campaigning for Biden and AGAINST Trump… She’s getting paid by US, the taxpayers. This is NOT okay. Don’t pay attention to how bad her answer is — grammatically and substantively — pay attention to the fact that she’s campaigning on YOUR dime!”
Karine Jean-Pierre’s actions constitute a violation of the Hatch Act, and recommends that a formal complaint be lodged with the US Office of Special Counsel.
“She’s campaigning. She’s trying to persuade and influence voters. She’s supposed to inform. If she had just spit out facts, she would have been fine,” says TGP’s legal counsel.
The primary responsibility of a White House Press Secretary is to convey the administration’s policies and initiatives to the public, rather than serving as a campaign advocate.
Karine Jean-Pierre has faced allegations of Hatch Act violations in the past. In 2023, a government watchdog determined that Jean-Pierre had violated the Hatch Act.
The Office of Special Counsel found that Karine Jean-Pierre breached the Hatch Act by consistently criticizing “mega MAGA Republicans” prior to the 2022 midterm elections. Despite these violations, no action was taken against her.
6 Comments
She is Haitian, is she legal or can we deport her.
Fire her arse!
If President Trump can be tried for a frivolous reason then so can she, and hers is not frivolous at all. This is what happens when you have people in power that think they are above the law, and can do as thy please as long as it benefits their cause.
What else does one expect for a brain dead DEI hire.
Paskie was the worst press secretary ever at the time. But Biden managed to find someone even worse! Can you believe it? He apparently does not concern himself with qualifications.
Fire her arse!