President Donald Trump’s “secret” contest for Cabinet members was revealed in a new report that raises concerns about potential Hatch Act violations.
An unofficial Cabinet Travel Competition is encouraging secretaries to appear in competitive congressional districts or states ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, The Atlantic revealed Sunday.
“There were rumors of a prize—possibly a dinner with the president for the winning Cabinet secretary, plus their family,” the report stated, “but several White House officials insisted that the competition is simply for bragging rights.”
Cabinet contestants have been encouraged to appear with members of Congress in local media interviews to help drive Trump’s message, according to the report.
Contestants must win White House approval for travel and have been instructed not to violate federal rules on partisan politics, The Atlantic reported.
“Taxpayers foot the bill for travel related to the secretaries’ official duties,” the report noted, “and the top officials are expected to pay for any personal political travel themselves.”
An unofficial Atlantic tally found Cabinet members had made 46 visits to Texas, 42 to Pennsylvania and 40 to New York. The Atlantic predicts the winner will be Small Business Administration head Kelly Loeffler, who took at least 18 trips.
The report noted former President George W. Bush ran a similar competition before the 2006 midterms and was condemned by The Office of Special Counsel years later for using federal funds for political purposes.
“The investigation found that the Bush tracking system spurred a ‘friendly competition’ between White House liaisons that, ultimately, was part of the ‘type of electioneering proscribed by the Hatch Act,’” the Atlantic reported.
Whether the contest violates federal law depends on internal safeguards to protect federal funds from being spent on politics, Donald Sherman, the president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told the Atlantic.
“The details do matter,” he said. “But it is also hard to imagine that that compliance is being prioritized in a competition-like scenario, particularly in an administration that has been hostile to the Hatch Act in pretty much every other instance.”
The Atlantic posited each of the competitors share a single goal.
“Mere mention of it elicited knowing nods and smiles from agency staff and White House officials,” the report noted. “The Cabinet officials understand their singular mission: to spread the Trump doctrine far and wide.”
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