Former Social Security Administration Commissioner Martin O’Malley violated the Hatch Act, according to a report from the Office of Special Counsel. The report said O’Malley went beyond the scope of his office during a radio interview where he made political statements about then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.
The Special Counsel report to the White House said O’Malley “violated the Hatch Act by using his official authority to interfere with or affect the results of an election.”
Throughout its investigation of the incident, the office said O’Malley failed to respond to multiple requests for contact by email and voicemail.
During a radio interview in 2024, O’Malley was asked what would be the “biggest thing” he’d like to leave with listeners about his work in the Social Security Administration.
The report said O’Malley responded, “I certainly can’t tell anybody who to vote for, but I can tell you that the proposals that are coming from Donald Trump would quickly deplete Social Security and we wouldn’t be able to pass it on to our kids as our grandparents passed it on to us.”
The Hatch Act specifies it is allowable for federal employees to support political candidates on their own time, but not while performing their official responsibilities.
The Special Counsel determined, “Mr. O’Malley willfully engaged in political activity while speaking in his official capacity and that the violation warrants referral to the President.”
Since O’Malley is no longer a federal employee, sanctioning or disciplinary action is not possible. The report acknowledged that O’Malley self-reported the incident, but that does not erase his responsibility to follow the law.
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