The Social Security Administration sent people with online accounts an email praising President Donald Trump days before the midterm elections, and legal experts say it may have run afoul of federal law.
The email went out Friday and Saturday under the name of Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano, The New York Times reported Sunday.
“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,” Bisignano wrote, according to copies reviewed by the Times.
Several legal experts told the Times that the email’s praise of Trump and its timing appeared to potentially violate the Hatch Act. The 87-year-old law is meant to keep executive branch employees from using their positions to influence 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.
“They’re doing it just before the election to persuade people that President Trump is doing a good job,” Richard Painter, a law professor at the University of Minnesota, told the Times. Painter added that he thought the email was inappropriate.
Clark said the message reminded her of a television ad campaign the Trump administration ran this fall promoting his presidency. Some experts also said that campaign could have violated the Hatch Act.
The Social Security Administration did not immediately respond to the Times’ request for comment.
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