A major in the Army National Guard Signal Corps violated the Hatch Act by explicitly expressing support for Joe Biden’s presidential bid during a town hall meeting in South Carolina.
Maj. Ginger Tate showed up to the event in uniform and was given the microphone. She became visibly emotional when describing how she led 130 troops into Afghanistan in 2013 while Biden was vice president. Shaking, she presented the 76-year-old with a coin bearing the names of every city her troops visited while deployed.
“I’ve been saving these coins for six years to meet you and President Obama so if that I ever met you, I would give it to you,” Tate said in front of an audience of about 400 people. “I’m so honored to have served under your administration and your leadership and I hope and pray that you will be our next president.”
The two embraced, and Biden reciprocated the action, giving her a coin he had in return.
The emotional moment was a blatant violation of the Hatch Act, a law that bars employees in the federal government or executive branch from engaging in political activity. Tate is governed by the Hatch Act as she is a current member of the National Guard.
Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling condemned the action Thursday on CNN.
“It was very emotional, I’m sure it was heartfelt by the major, but it was also incredibly wrong and a violation of the U.S. military regulations and policies,” Hertling said. “When you’re in uniform, you don’t represent your command or your soldiers to support one candidate or another. In fact, the regulation says you can’t campaign, you can’t support, or you can’t provide information when you’re in uniform that shows your public support of a candidate.”
“Had she taken off the uniform, had she been in civilian clothes and said hey, I really love you, I served in the military, that’s super. But as soon as you put on that military uniform, you indicate that you are supporting everyone in your organization,” he added.
There was blowback after President Trump signed “Make America Great Again” hats during his visit to Iraq last year. Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke violated the Hatch Act when he tweeted out a photo of himself wearing socks bearing the president’s signature phrase.
