Sonny Perdue Fuels Ethics Scrutiny as Trump’s Rural Envoy

2020 Election, Agriculture, Federal Agency/Executive Branch, Federal Regulation, Opinions, Policy, White House

October 5, 2020

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by Ryan McCrimmon (Politico) The agriculture secretary has kept farmers in Trump’s corner, but Democrats claim he crosses the line between public duties and political promotion. — Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue offered a spirited pitch for voters to reelect President Donald Trump at an official USDA event with North Carolina food producers in August, sending the audience into a chant of “Four more years!”

The pep talk landed Perdue in the crosshairs of ethics watchdogs, who filed a formal complaint alleging that the USDA chief was improperly using his appearance on the taxpayer’s dime to boost Trump’s prospects in November. Democrats called Perdue’s remarks a “blatant violation of federal law” in a letter to the Agriculture Department’s ethics office.

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Trump administration officials have often blurred the lines between public duties and political promotion. The Office of Special Counsel has issued warnings to a dozen of them for violating the Hatch Act, the federal law barring some political activity by executive branch employees, and is even now investigating Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for criticizing Trump’s election opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, on television. But even by those standards, Perdue’s use of the levers of government to help Trump’s reelection stand out.

On top of his overt appeal to reelect the president, Perdue has kept many farmers in Trump’s corner by doling out unprecedented sums of taxpayer aid to offset the industry’s losses after years of trade turmoil and painful biofuel policies. Democrats have questioned the practice, but have made almost no effort to attach any strings to the payments. Now, Perdue is facing a fresh round of criticism for requiring federal contractors to stuff promotional letters from Trump into millions of USDA food boxes distributed to needy families, over the objections of lawmakers and many food banks.

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Trump routinely points to the money at campaign rallies as his biggest gift to farmers and ranchers, who remain among his most loyal supporters.

“Any farmers in this group? Because you’ve got to love Trump,” he said at a September rally in Mosinee, Wis. “Did everybody get that money?”

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Democrats and watchdog groups also allege that the bailout programs designed by Perdue’s office have disproportionately benefited Southern states and larger farms. A report from the Government Accountability Office last month showed that under the 2019 trade aid program, the average payment to producers in Georgia, Perdue’s home state, was more than $42,500 — the highest rate of any state and more than double the national average of $16,500.

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But in a lengthy endorsement afterward, Perdue praised Trump as a champion for “forgotten people” and a tireless worker with “business speed, not government speed,” among other plaudits.

The nonpartisan Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington claims Perdue’s remarks were a clear case of political activity in violation of the Hatch Act . “Secretary Perdue’s behavior is beyond inappropriate for someone in his position,” CREW Deputy Director Donald Sherman said at the time.

Nick Schwellenbach, senior investigator at the Project on Government Oversight, called the incident a “point blank Hatch Act violation.”

“That overt mixture of his official government duties and expressing advocacy for a candidate in an upcoming election is totally prohibited,” he said.

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But even if Perdue’s activities are deemed to be a violation of the ethics law, the consequences are likely to be minimal: The Office of Special Counsel has determined that at least 12 senior Trump officials have violated the Hatch Act over the course of the administration, but let most off with a warning letter. READ MORE

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