Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue Violates Hatch Act by Campaigning for Trump at Official USDA Event

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue violated the Hatch Act at an August 24, 2020 event in Mills River, North Carolina, related to the Farmers to Families Food Box Program. During the official USDA event attended by President Trump, Perdue told the crowd that people lined up along the motorcade route were “part of those forgotten people that voted for you for 2016,” and added “they and many others are going to vote for you for four more years in 2020. Because they understand, under your administration, they’ve not been forgotten.” Perdue also stated, “that’s what’s gonna continue to happen — four more years — if America gets out and votes for this man, Donald J. Trump,” prompting the crowd to chant “four more years.”

Background

The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) determined that because Perdue was on official USDA business at the time and had traveled to North Carolina at taxpayer expense, his campaign speech violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activities while on the job. The USDA secretary was ordered to reimburse the U.S. Treasury for all expenses related to the trip. The OSC noted “While Secretary Perdue has an unquestioned First Amendment right to campaign for the president on his own time and in his personal capacity, he has no such right to do so in his official capacity and at taxpayer expense.”

The Farmers to Families Food Box Program itself faced scrutiny for including letters from Trump to recipients, using a federal food assistance program for political messaging during an election year. Perdue’s violation occurred during a broader pattern of Hatch Act violations by Trump administration officials throughout 2020, including the Republican National Convention at the White House and multiple campaign speeches by Cabinet officials at taxpayer-funded events.

Significance

Perdue’s Hatch Act violation exemplified the Trump administration’s systematic abuse of federal resources for campaign purposes. The explicit campaign speech at an official USDA event - telling attendees to vote for Trump while representing the department - represented one of the clearest Hatch Act violations of the Trump era. The requirement to reimburse taxpayers marked a rare instance of financial accountability for Hatch Act violations, though the amount likely paled in comparison to the value of the presidential appearance at the staged event. The violation occurred in the final months before the 2020 election, suggesting calculated political timing to maximize campaign benefit. Perdue’s willingness to violate the law demonstrated the Trump Cabinet’s contempt for restrictions on using official positions for political gain, confident that minimal consequences would follow.