Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro broke a federal law when mixing his job and politics, and in doing so, has effectively ended his chances of being on Hillary Clinton’s ticket.
Castro violated the Hatch Act when he offered this praise for Hillary Clinton during an interview back in April: “Now, taking off my HUD hat for a second and just speaking individually, it is very clear that Hillary Clinton is the most experienced, thoughtful and prepared candidate for president that we have this year.”
The problem was he made the comment while sitting in his taxpayer office with the official HUD seal behind him. Saying he was taking “off his HUD hat for a second” wasn’t a clear enough delineation according to ethics watchdog officials.
Typically if cabinet members are asked a political or campaign related issue they will politely decline to answer. The Obama administration is barring cabinet secretaries from speaking at next weeks Democratic National Convention.
“Secretary Castro’s statements during the interview impermissibly mixed his personal political views with official agency business,” despite his efforts to clarify that some answers were being given in his personal capacity,” said Carolyn Lerner, U.S. Office of Special Counsel.
Castro has apologized and the Obama administration says he will not face punishment, but the rookie mistake means he likely off Clinton’s very short list for vice president.