Biden White House doubles down on 'MAGA' attacks despite Hatch Act warning
WASHINGTON − The White House is continuing to use the term "MAGA" to label Republican opposition despite a federal watchdog agency's warning that the language is a violation of the Hatch Act.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre blasted Republicans' fiscal blueprint as a "hardcore MAGA budget" on Wednesday.
Andrew Bates, deputy White House press secretary, called Republicans' top economic priority "MAGA tax welfare for the richest Americans and giant corporations" in a memo the same day.
And a memo from Bates Thursday slammed House Republicans' budget proposal as "an extreme MAGA plan that guts crucial Medicare benefits American families pay to earn."
Each statement came after the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, in a June 7 letter, said Jean-Pierre's use of "MAGA Republicans" during press briefings in the lead-up to the 2022 midterm elections violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from using their title to engage in political activity to interfere with the results of an election.
The Office of Special Counsel opted against disciplinary action. But Galindo-Marrone said the agency advised Jean-Pierre that "should she again engage in prohibited political activity, OSC would consider it a knowing and willful violation of the law that could result in OSC pursuing disciplinary action."
Jean-Pierre, when asked about the violation Tuesday, pointed to nearly 2,000 uses of "Make America Great Again" on the archived White House web site from the Trump years and said congressional Republicans have frequently used "MAGA" in official policy "for years now."
