Office of Special Counsel Letter

The Office of Special Counsel investigated a complaint that Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke violated the Hatch Act. Secretary Zinke wore socks with an image of President Trump and his slogan "Make America Great Again" to an official event, and later a photo of the socks was posted to his official Twitter account. The Office concluded this constituted political activity in violation of the Hatch Act. However, as Secretary Zinke took steps to remove the photo and directed an apology upon learning it could violate the law, the Office decided to close the matter without further action by issuing Secretary Zinke a warning letter instead of disciplinary action.

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Office of Special Counsel Letter

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U.S.

OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL

1730 M Street, N.W., Suite 218
Washington, DC 20036-4505
202-804-7000

December 20, 2018

Mr. Daniel Stevens

Executive Director
Campaign for Accountability
611 Pennsylvania Avenue, S.E. #337
Washington, DC 20003

VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL: dstevens@campaignforaccountability.org

Re: OSC File No. HA-18-4075

Dear Mr. Stevens:

This letter is in response to a complaint you filed with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel
(OSC) alleging that U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke violated the Hatch Act.
Specifically, you allege that, while acting in his official capacity, Secretary Zinke wore socks
depicting President Donald Trump and his campaign slogan “Make America Great Again!” and later
posted a picture of his socks to his official Twitter account. Although OSC has concluded that
Secretary Zinke violated the Hatch Act, as explained below, we have decided not to pursue
disciplinary action and instead issued him a warning letter.

As a Senate-confirmed Presidential appointee, Secretary Zinke is subject to the restrictions of

the Hatch Act.1 Among other things, the Hatch Act prohibits Secretary Zinke from using his official
authority or influence for the purpose of affecting the result of an election.2 For example, he may not
use his official title while engaging in political activity, use government resources or his official
influence to advance or oppose candidates for partisan office, or ask subordinates to engage in
political activity.3

On June 26, 2018, Secretary Zinke attended an official event at Mount Rushmore while
wearing socks depicting a cartoon image of President Trump and his campaign slogan “Make
America Great Again!” Later that day, a picture of Secretary Zinke’s socks was posted to
“@SecretaryZinke,” his official Twitter account, with the following message: “Breaking in new
socks on a hike with the governors today.” OSC has confirmed that Secretary Zinke did not post this
message but authorized its posting.

1
5 U.S.C. §§ 7321-7326.
2
5 U.S.C. § 7323(a)(1).
3
Political activity is defined as activity directed toward the success or failure of a political party, candidate for
partisan political office, or partisan political group. 5 C.F.R. § 734.101.
U.S. Office of Special Counsel
Page 2

Wearing or displaying items with campaign slogans or images of candidates constitutes

political activity for purposes of the Hatch Act. Accordingly, Secretary Zinke engaged in political
activity when he wore the above-referenced socks. Because Secretary Zinke wore these socks to an
official event and also authorized their display on his official Twitter account, he violated the Hatch
Act’s prohibition against using his official position to influence an election.

Although OSC has concluded that Secretary Zinke violated the Hatch Act, we do not believe
that his violation was willful. Rather, OSC understands that Secretary Zinke took steps to remove
the picture from his official Twitter account upon hearing that the post could violate the Hatch Act.
He also directed his staff to issue an apology. Therefore, we have decided to close this matter
without further action.