Top White House trade adviser violated Hatch Act, watchdog finds

The Office of Special Counsel (OSC), the federal government’s internal watchdog, on Monday accused President Trump’s top trade adviser of repeatedly flouting a ban on executive branch employees using their office for political purposes.

Peter Navarro, the White House director of trade and manufacturing policy, violated the Hatch Act by criticizing President-elect Joe Biden and advocating for Trump’s reelection while speaking in his capacity as a top administration official, according to an OSC report released Monday.

The Hatch Act bars executive branch employees from campaigning or engaging in political activity in anything but their personal capacity. The OSC cited six media interviews leading up to the election and a handful of tweets in which Navarro made explicitly political comments while also discussing policy on behalf of the president.

Navarro was also warned twice before several of the violating comments, the OSC said.

“Dr. Navarro’s violations of the Hatch Act were knowing and willful,” the OSC wrote. “Dr. Navarro’s attempt to influence voters in the 2020 presidential election, while speaking as a representative of their government, is just what the Hatch Act is intended to prevent.”

Most of Navarro’s alleged violations of the Hatch Act involve baselessly accusing Biden of being subservient to the Chinese government and pushing manufacturing jobs out of the U.S. He also claimed Biden’s economic policies would destroy the U.S. economy and bashed Vice President-elect Kamala Harris as a “mouthpiece” who should not be taken seriously.

Navarro’s conduct was the subject of an October complaint from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonprofit watchdog group.

The White House declined to comment.

Navarro is the latest of several Trump administration officials to be reprimanded or investigated for violating the Hatch Act, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway.

Updated at 4:17 p.m.