Mark Meadows thinks 'nobody outside of the Beltway' cares about the Hatch Act
Have members of President Trump's administration been violating the Hatch Act at the Republican National Convention? His chief of staff argues no — and that most people don't really care, anyway.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows spoke to Politico on Wednesday after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo received heavy criticism for speaking at the Republican convention from Jerusalem, with critics saying he and other officials were violating the Hatch Act, which restricts federal employees' ability to engage in political activities in their official capacity.
Meadows pushed back on this criticism, asserting that Pompeo was acting in his personal capacity and saying he has a "different philosophy" on the Hatch Act than others, arguing that it's intended to ensure government officials don't "use their political position to try to convince" other federal employees to vote or campaign a certain way.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Aside from this, though, Meadows echoed an argument controversially laid out in Politico's Playbook that most people aren't concerned about this.
"Nobody outside of the Beltway really cares," Meadows said. "They expect that Donald Trump is going to promote Republican values, and they would expect that Barack Obama, when he was in office, that he would do the same for Democrats. And so, listen, this is a lot of hoopla that is being made about things mainly because the convention has been so unbelievably successful."
Earlier in the conversation, Meadows told Politico he would be talking in his "personal capacity" and putting on his "political hat" during the interview, hoping to avoid "everybody tweeting at me that I'm violating the Hatch Act." Given that his comments quickly drew criticism while the phrase "Hatch Act" trended on Twitter, that mission may not have been a success. Brendan Morrow
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Octopuses could be the next big species after humans
UNDER THE RADAR What has eight arms, a beaked mouth, and is poised to take over the planet when we're all gone?
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Sudoku medium: December 23, 2024
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Crossword: December 23, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billion
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on record
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homes
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creature
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published