The Social Security Administration praised President Trump in an email sent Friday and Saturday to people with online accounts, an unusual move days before the midterm elections that some experts said could violate an anticorruption law.
“Under President Donald J. Trump, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is transforming into a model of excellence, one that meets and exceeds customer expectations for fast, accurate and secure service,” Commissioner Frank Bisignano wrote in the email, copies of which were reviewed by The New York Times.
Several legal experts said that the email’s praise of Mr. Trump and its timing appeared to potentially violate the Hatch Act, an 87-year-old law meant to prevent employees of the executive branch from using their positions to influence the results of partisan elections.
Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis, said the email seemed to function as “propaganda” rather than as a public service announcement providing information.
“They’re doing it just before the election to persuade people that President Trump is doing a good job,” Richard W. Painter, a law professor at the University of Minnesota, said in a phone interview on Saturday, adding that he thought the email was inappropriate.
Ms. Clark said the message was reminiscent of a television ad campaign by the Trump administration this fall that promoted his presidency, which some experts also said could have violated the Hatch Act.
The Social Security Administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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