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1h ago

Watchdog Files Hatch Act Complaint Over SBA and HUD Shutdown Messaging

The case tests whether partisan agency banners cross legal lines when they avoid explicit electioneering.

A view of the U.S. Capitol on September 30, 2025, in Washington, DC.
OXON HILL, MARYLAND - FEBRUARY 21: U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on February 21, 2025 in Oxon Hill, Maryland. The annual four-day gathering brings together conservative U.S. lawmakers, international leaders, media personalities and businessmen to discuss and champion conservative ideas. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Kelly Loeffler, administrator of the Small Business Administration, speaks at the Concordia Summit on Sept. 24, 2025 in New York.
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Overview

  • Public Citizen filed a complaint late Wednesday with the Office of Special Counsel targeting SBA chief Kelly Loeffler and HUD Secretary Scott Turner over website messages blaming Senate Democrats for the shutdown.
  • The SBA homepage asserts Senate Democrats caused the funding lapse that is halting services for small businesses, while HUD revised its banner to state that the Radical Left in Congress shut down the government.
  • Turner told NewsNation he is not worried about a Hatch Act violation, and HUD defended the language as informing the public while maintaining critical services.
  • Ethics commentators said the messages are unusual but may fall outside the Hatch Act’s scope because they do not reference an election, a view Public Citizen disputes.
  • MSNBC reports other agencies circulated partisan language to employees, including suggested out-of-office text from the White House and a VA newsletter, as questions persist about OSC enforcement after leadership upheaval.