Lynne Patton, an official in President Trump's Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), has recently come under fire due to an unfortunate tweet she shared with her followers.
Patton was called out for retweeting the following tweet, comparing HUD Secretary Ben Carson to Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, hence violating the Hatch Act, which, according to the US Office of Special Counsel, "limits certain political activities of federal employees."
After she was called out for the violation, Patton remained defiant, posting on Facebook, essentially, that she simply didn't care.
"Just retweeted this amazing tweet from both of my Twitter accounts, the post reads. "Professional and personal."
"It may be a Hatch Act violation. It may not be. Either way, I honestly don't care anymore. These people are determined to try to ruin and discredit a good man. In the end, they will only serve to destroy themselves and this great country when successful men and women from the private sector refuse to become public servants and a target of their undeserving partisan hate and obstruction."
This blatant disregard of federal law isn't new for the Trump administration. The Hatch Act, which was enacted in 1939, limits certain activities of federal administrators.
The US Office of Special Counsel's website states:
"[The Hatch Act]'s purposes are to ensure that federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan fashion, to protect federal employees from political coercion in the workplace, and to ensure that federal employees are advanced based on merit and not based on political affiliation. "
Patton received some supportive comments on her Facebook post.
Facebook
Facebook
Facebook
But reactions on Twitter were not nearly as kind.
One encouraged citizens to report this violation.
Neither Carson nor AOC have responded to Patton's post.
