The Office of Special Counsel said Donald Trump aide Dan Scavino violated the Hatch Act when he tweeted Rep. Justin Amash needed to lose in the primary. | Getty Trump's social media director hit for Hatch Act violation

President Donald Trump's social media director Dan Scavino violated the law when he called on Trump's allies to oust a Republican congressman from office in April, according to the Office of Special Counsel.

The agency found that Scavino breached a provision of the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees engaging in some forms of political activity while acting in their official capacity.


"Accordingly, we issued Mr. Scavino a warning letter," wrote Ana Galindo-Marrone, chief of OSC's Hatch Act Unit. "In addition, we note that Mr. Scavino was recently counseled about the Hatch Act by the Office of the White House Counsel."

The Office of Special Counseil is "an independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency," whose mission, according to its website "is to safeguard the merit system by protecting federal employees and applicants from prohibited practices."

Galindo-Marrone noted that Scavino appears not to have committed any Hatch Act violations since he was admonished, and he was warned that any future breaches would be considered "willful and knowing violation of the law" and could result in harsher punishment.

Scavino tweeted at Michigan Republican Rep. Justin Amash on April 1, days after Trump failed to persuade Republicans to support an early version of his preferred health care legislation. Amash, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, formed part of the bloc of House conservatives that sealed the bill's initial demise.

Playbook PM Sign up for our must-read newsletter on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

"@realDonaldTrump is bringing auto plants & jobs back to Michigan. @justinamash is a big liability," Scavino tweeted at the time. "#TrumpTrain, defeat him in primary."

The OSC decision came in response to a complaint filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

“The rules are clear that government officials aren’t allowed to use their position for campaign activity,” said CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder in a statement. “OSC has made clear with this ruling that they are going to enforce these important rules and work to keep the government free from inappropriate politics.”

Amash's office and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

