Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is under investigation for potentially violating the Hatch Act, a federal law that prohibits civil servants from engaging in political activity while on duty. DeVos criticized Joe Biden in a Fox News interview about his promise to roll back DeVos’ school choice policies, a clip that the Department of Education then promoted through its official YouTube page. The Office of Special Counsel, the body responsible for conducting these investigations, has previously found at least 12 Trump administration officials in violation of the Hatch Act. Of these, former senior counselor Kellyanne Conway’s was the only one the special counsel deemed significant enough to send a warning letter to President Trump, who promptly ignored it. Before 2012, Hatch Act violators often faced a severe punishment, but during the second half of the Obama Administration and the Trump administration, they have endured lesser penalties including fines, demotions, or suspensions.
