Evidence shows Secretary Cardona, in his official capacity, used government data and servers to send an overtly political email to federal student loan borrowers
Washington, D.C. --- Today, the non-partisan ethics watchdog the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) filed a complaint urging the Office of Special Counsel to investigate whether Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona violated the Hatch Act by sending a political email to federal student loan borrowers in his official capacity.
In July 2024, Secretary Cardona sent an unsolicited email that is entirely and outrageously political both in its purpose and language. It was sent to citizens who are federal student loan borrowers from an official government email address, written on official department letterhead, and was signed by Secretary Cardona with his official title. While we do not yet know the number of citizens who received the unsolicited email from the Department of Education, it appears to have been sent to current student loan borrowers, which could be up to 43 million Americans. This type of political advocacy from the government targeting citizens who interact with an agency is exactly the type of politicization the Hatch Act is designed to prevent.
The Hatch Act protects the public trust by ensuring federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan manner and protects taxpayer funds from being used for political purposes. As a presidential appointee with Senate confirmation, Secretary Cardona is covered by the Hatch Act. The Hatch Act prohibits employees from using their official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election. The attendant Hatch Act regulation gives examples of the type of activity this prohibition encompasses, one of which is that it is a prohibited use of authority for employees to use their official title or position while participating in political activity.
"Secretary Cardona appears to have been caught making an overtly political pitch to student loan borrowers in an election year. The uniqueness and magnitude also need to be noted, as this case goes far beyond a standard Hatch Act violation of making a political remark while appearing in an official capacity. What looks to have happened here is an extremely partisan message was widely distributed using data the federal government had compiled on citizens who have student loans—a universe that could be 43 million people. We urge the Office of Special Counsel to immediately act and investigate whether Secretary Cardona violated the Hatch Act and, if so, the true scope of it.” said Kendra Arnold, Executive Director of FACT.
A full copy of the complaint can be found HERE.
A full copy of Secretary Cardona’s email to federal student loan borrowers can be found HERE.
FACT is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting accountability, ethics, and transparency in government and civic arenas. For more on FACT, visit Http://www.factsc.org/
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