Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra answers questions during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing to debate reopening schools in the course of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., September 30, 2021.
Greg Nash | Pool | Reuters
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra violated the Hatch Act by expressing support for Democratic Senator Alex Padilla’s re-election at a public event last 12 months, a U.S. government watchdog said on Tuesday.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel report cited Becerra’s comments that he intended to vote for Padilla while speaking at a Congressional Hispanic Caucus dinner in September in his official capability as having “mixed his personal electoral preference with official remarks.”
Becerra, President Joe Biden’s top health official, acknowledged his comments but said they were unintentional.
“While I didn’t realize on the time that my off-the-cuff remarks concerning my personal voting intentions were in violation of the Hatch Act, I now understand why they weren’t permitted,” he said in an announcement included within the report.
The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from using their official capability to affect or interfere with elections, although another political activities are allowed.
The report was sent to Biden, a Democrat, for “appropriate motion.”
Representatives for the White House couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.
The Office of the Special Counsel, an independent agency, could make recommendations but doesn’t have the authority to implement them.
It previously cited U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm for comments she made in a magazine interview last 12 months.
Under former Republican President Donald Trump, the office also cited top administration officials for violations and called for one, Kellyanne Conway, to be faraway from office.