The Republican attorneys general of Montana and Kansas filed a formal complaint Thursday against Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, accusing him of violating the Hatch Act with anti-Republican statements.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach are accusing Cardona of using government resources for political activities and requesting that the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) remove him from his position .
The attorneys general say the Hatch Act was violated twice by the Secretary of Education, first in a letter to student loan borrowers on July 15.
“Let me be clear: President Biden and I are determined to reduce costs for student loan borrowers, make student debt repayment affordable and realistic, and build on our separate efforts that have already provided relief to 4.75 million of Americans – no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stop us,” Cardona wrote.
The second time was on July 18, when a Department of Education spokesperson said, “And we will not stop fighting efforts by Republican elected officials to raise the costs of student loan payments for millions of their own constituents.” .
The two state officials say the statement was used in an attempt to influence the presidential election.
“The inferences are that Mr. Cardona knowingly chose to use government resources for political activities, including to affect the upcoming presidential election. In light of the repeated and egregious violations of the Hatch Act, a significant penalty is warranted,” Knudsen wrote.
“We note that the OSC has recommended that a senior advisor to the President be removed from federal service for repeatedly violating the Hatch Act by making statements aimed at the success of the President’s re-election campaign. OSC should follow that precedent here.”
Reached for comment, a Department of Education spokesperson said: “The statements were factually accurate descriptions of the proceedings, were intended to address potential borrower confusion about the status of their loans following court rulings, and were not in breach of the Hatch Act .”
—Updated at 3 p.m.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
