Granholm gets warning not to use office as energy secretary for political purposes
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm has been warned not to get involved in partisan politics while acting in her official capacity, a conservative watchdog group said Tuesday.
The Washington-based group, Foundation for Accountability & Civic Trust (FACT), had accused Granholm, a former Michigan governor, of violating the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from being directly involved in partisan elections while discharging their official duties.
More: Biden selects Jennifer Granholm to be energy secretary
More: Granholm questioned about potential conflict of interest with bus company
FACT said that during an Oct. 6, 2021, Instagram live interview with Marie Claire, a women's magazine, Granholm was asked how listeners could become more involved in getting specific policies passed in Congress. Granholm responded, "The good news is that ... voting gave Democrats a bare majority (in Congress)."
She then quickly backtracked, saying, "I am using Democrats as a substitute for the policies that you believe in, the policies that you would like to see happen."
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which investigates potential Hatch Act infractions, said in a letter to FACT on June 9 that Granholm's comment violated the act but that it was issuing a warning because she had not had "significant" training on the act before making the remarks. She has since received that training, the office said.
"Secretary Granholm has been advised that if in the future she engages in prohibited political activity while employed in a position covered by the Hatch Act, we will consider such activity to be a willful and knowing violation of the law," the letter said.
Granholm, besides serving two terms as Michigan's governor, is a former assistant U.S. attorney and Michigan attorney general.
Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @tsspangler. Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jennifer Granholm warned after making political statement
