Crockett on White House shutdown messaging: 'How can this not be a violation of the Hatch Act?'

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) on Wednesday questioned how the White House’s shutdown messaging could not be a violation of the Hatch Act after it sent emails to employees and plastered a message on the Housing and Urban Development website blaming Democrats for the government shutdown. 

“I think they’re being a lot more illegal in their messaging. The first thing that I wanted to know was, how can this not be a violation of the Hatch Act in some way? Right?” Crockett said during an appearance on CNN’s “The Source.”

“Because we are not allowed to politic on official sites, period. Right? And that’s what they’re doing,” she added.

Crockett described the messaging as political “propaganda” that potentially violated the Hatch Act, a federal law passed in 1939 that prevents federal employees from engaging in partisan activities. It specifically applies to workers responsible for administering federally funded programs.  

On Wednesday, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) website featured a statement that read, “The Radical Left are going to shut down the government and inflict massive pain on the American people unless they get their $1.5 trillion wish list of demands.”

Federal employees at multiple agencies also received emails Tuesday blaming congressional Democrats for a potential government shutdown “forced” by the party.

“Instead of just saying, we’re currently in a shutdown, you decided to play partisan politics on an official website, and I guess there is no limit to what they won’t do because they do the exact same thing when we walk into committee,” Crockett told anchor Kaitlan Collins.

“Instead of us having real committee hearings where we are actually able to get information that may somehow help the American people understand what’s going on, instead, it’s always a campaign rally that they’re doing when we walk into committee, and it’s more spewing of their propaganda,” she added. 

When asked about the messaging on their official site, HUD officials doubled down on their decision to publicly denounce their political counterparts for the federal funding lapse.

“The Far Left is barreling our country toward a shutdown, which will hurt all Americans. At HUD, we are working to keep critical services online and support our most vulnerable,” a HUD spokesperson told The Hill.

“Why is the media more focused on a banner than reporting on the impact of a shutdown on the American people?” the spokesperson added.