Lynne Patton, a regional administrator for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said last week she does not care if she violated a federal law preventing the politicization of her government position.
Ms. Patton shared a meme supporting her boss, HUD Secretary Ben Carson after he was criticized for his testimony in front of the House Financial Services Committee.
“Just retweeted this amazing tweet from both of my Twitter accounts - professional and personal. It may be a Hatch Act violation. It may not be. Either way, I honestly don’t care anymore,” she said.
“These people are determined to try to ruin and discredit a good man. In the end, they will only serve to destroy themselves and this great country when successful men and women from the private sector refuse to become public servants and a target of their undeserving partisan hate and obstruction,” she said.
The 1939 Hatch Act prevents executive branch officials from using their “official authority for political purposes” and prevents them from “engaging in partisan political activity,” according to the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
When critics mentioned the potential illegality of her comments over the weekend, she called them “triggered liberal snowflakes” and called one user a “lazy internet parrot.”
“I just stopped caring once people started calling renowned neurosurgeons morons simply due to partisan politics. They, you & everyone lost all credibility - and it finally needed to be said, regardless of time of day or twitter account. #SorryNotSorry,” she said.
• Bailey Vogt can be reached at bvogt@washingtontimes.com.
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