Presidents historically have avoided using the White House for strictly political events, though Trump has shown disregard for traditional efforts to separate governing and campaigning. Critics slam Trump for transforming the White House grounds into a campaign rally. Two cabinet officials were cited for Hatch Act violations during the eight years of Barack Obama's presidency. Hatch Act violations are not criminal. The law does not apply to the president or vice president. WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s return to the White House is poised to reshape the campaign’s final four weeks as aides debated how to … “I'd prefer that it not be on my record," Sebelius said in an interview from her home in Lawrence, Kansas. Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan both announced their re-election bids from the Executive Mansion, and … The term “Rose Garden campaign” was first used by then-candidate Jimmy Carter in 1976. There is a law, called the Hatch Act, that prohibits most government officials from engaging in politicking in the course of their official work. Any president running for reelection risks charges that he's politicizing the executive branch. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referendums are decided. The president’s team posted an overtly political “Obamagate” video on the official White House Facebook page attacking former President Barack Obama. The first modern campaign is thought to be William Ewart Gladstone’s Midlothian campaign in the 1880’s, although there may have been earlier modern examples from the 19 th century. “Recent media reports indicate that the Obama administration may be engaging in an array of potentially illegal fundraising behavior,” Issa wrote in a July 11 letter to White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler. Political campaigns have existed as long as there have been informed citizens. a major branch office at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, slamming Bush’s Office of Political Affairs, Biden kills Trump’s sculpture garden of ‘American heroes’, Forty Dollar Chicken, Ferraris and Mesh Masks: Two Months in Donald Trump’s Fauci-Free Palm Beach Utopia, Neera Tanden lands in the White House, after all, Gaetz 'wingman' set to plead guilty to trafficking a minor and agrees to cooperate with feds. This won't be the first time a sitting president has used the White House to accept a party's nomination. The 2020 election battle for the White House and Congress poised to hit record-shattering $14 billion By Fredreka Schouten , CNN Updated 2317 GMT (0717 HKT) October 28, 2020 For example, White House aides and Obama cabinet members can’t solicit donations, but they are legally allowed to speak at fundraisers. That means only “commissioned officers”—people who hold the title of special assistant to the president or above—can work on political matters in the office or during working hours. Trump owes us thousands of dollars for holding the press hostage. Yet the legal distinctions can be fine and hard to pin down. The innovation that seemed to abound everywhere else except in politics is now steadily enveloping political campaigning. This White House says the event was not a fund-raiser, that all its fundraising and political events have been legal and that they have ample precedent in prior administrations. Missing out on the latest scoops? White House: Air Force One will not be used as a ‘prop’ at ... was a key character in Trump's campaign for the White House. But just four days after the office’s closure became public, an independent watchdog agency within the executive branch issued a long-awaited ruling slamming Bush’s Office of Political Affairs for repeatedly violating the Hatch Act by allegedly organizing the travel of cabinet members to advance political goals and conducting political briefings at government agencies. While other presidents took campaign advantage of the trappings of the office, something that came to be known as the “Rose Garden strategy," they typically refrained from explicit electoral appeals or attacks on their opponents at official presidential events. Visit him at DanzigerCartoons. President Donald Trump’s return to the White House is poised to reshape the campaign’s final four weeks as aides debated Tuesday how to move past … He served in the US Army in Vietnam and was awarded the Bronze Star and the Air Medal. “All known web-based email services” are blocked from official White House computers, an administration official told POLITICO. Race to the Ballot: The Our White House Presidential Campaign and Election Kit for Kids! Despite serious misgivings about the legal rationale, Obama’s lawyers have instructed aides to comply with the ruling. Besides Plouffe, the list includes chief of staff Bill Daley, Obama’s 2008 campaign chairman and still a key figure in Democratic fundraising; deputy senior adviser Stephanie Cutter, a veteran political operative who held a top post in John Kerry’s 2004 campaign; press secretary Jay Carney; senior adviser Valerie Jarrett; and deputy chief of staff Alyssa Mastromonaco, a former campaign scheduler who helps coordinate logistics between the campaign and White House. Sign up for POLITICO Playbook and get the latest news, every morning — in your inbox. Trump has used the White House as a backdrop for his campaign and relied on federal personnel to help him do so. Reprinted with permission from ProPublica. From contacting supporters over the internet to analyzing voter behavior for targeted canvassing, these modern tools are making campaigns smarter than ever. Many legal experts agree. Of these events, transcribed on the official White House website, the president spoke about the election or attacked his opponent, Joe Biden, at 12 of them, nearly half. Trump would not violate the Hatch Act if he chose the White House for his nomination acceptance speech, but executive branch employees in the White House and agencies might be in jeopardy if they support or attend the event, experts said. The White House's formula, created during Ronald Reagan's presidency, isn't public, nor is the cost of flying Air Force One — recent Pentagon estimates puts … “If you could stretch things and say, yes, it's perfectly legal to do this, but it has the appearance of impropriety — you don't do it.". Scroll to Top. His presidential stage provided a venue for supporters to urge others to vote for Trump in November at three additional events. The White House did not respond to a request for comment, nor did the Trump reelection campaign. President Donald Trump speaks with members of the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 6, … Add your name to demand Trump obey the law stop using taxpayer money for campaign events. #EndorseThis: Colbert Roasts The Royals And Piers Morgan. “We will be coordinated but [2012 campaign manager] Jim Messina and his staff are in charge of the campaign.”. Democrats have raised objections to Trump’s use of the White House as an overt political backdrop. At the time, Carter was challenging the incumbent president Gerald Ford. President Donald Trump removes his mask as he stands on the balcony outside of the Blue Room as returns to the White House Monday, Oct. 5, … VOA White House Reporter Investigated For Anti-Trump Bias By Political Appointees. Now, as Obama’s re-election effort slowly gathers momentum, the White House is trying to balance Obama’s squeaky-clean brand with the bruising politics of a campaign headquartered in Chicago – but with a major branch office at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Most federal workers, including White House staff, are permitted to politick during their off hours, but not while at work. Obama, along with Plouffe, outgoing Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Austan Goolsbee and other aides, has filmed campaign videos. Given that she was on the Kansas ethics commission and was a national board member of Common Cause, “it's kind of a black mark." No laws prohibit the president or senior West Wing officials from engaging in electoral activity during their day jobs, although the 1930s-era Hatch Act prohibits them from using government resources to do so or to fundraise in U.S. government offices. His personal involvement in the re-election effort, so far, appears to be limited, but it is growing. news Politics. Trump Hosts Yet Another Campaign Rally at the White House Remember when stuff like this just ... Trump’s words to the admiring crowd left little ambiguity about whether he was conducting politics. This political slogan was originally used in the 1957 campaign under Harold Macmillan’s leadership of the Tories in the United Kingdom. Carter complained that Ford was using a “Rose Garden strategy” to get himself … He has published eleven books of cartoons and one novel. Since the arrival of Plouffe, the White House hasn’t been especially shy about politicking, organizing and fundraising within ethical guidelines, federal law and their own interpretation of political propriety – even though they chafe at the idea that they are the Beltway tail wagging the Midwestern dog. The corruption involved in using the White House for partisan campaigning wasn’t the only respect in which the optics of Trump’s speech were disturbing. “This has been the most politicized White House in history and the American people have suffered as a result,” Obama told an audience in Manchester, N.H. on June 22, 2007. But Issa’s comments, ironically enough, track closely with then-Sen. Obama’s criticism of the Bush White House for letting politics pervade the executive branch. And there are other nettlesome questions such as whether low-level White House staffers can be cleared for political work, where and when can they electioneer, and whether it’s okay to invite donors to the White House residence – even if you don’t actually ask them for money. Jimmy Carter’s past as a peanut farmer seemed to define him early on during his bid for the White House in 1976. He’s even courted a little controversy – though ethics experts say he hasn’t let his political team run amok, as Bush and Clinton reportedly did. These … But Obama’s activities have not been without controversy. President Donald Trump speaks with members of the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 6, … The opinions that matter. He is the recipient of the Herblock Prize and the Thomas Nast (Landau) Prize. Ethics Office Says Trump Can Give GOP Acceptance Speech at White House The president is deciding whether to give the address at the White House or … “There are several laws that prohibit the use of federal funds and resources for partisan political events like the president's RNC speech," said Donald Sherman, deputy director of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW. Still, except for that speech, Obama never - either as a candidate or president - actually promised to purge politics from the White House or made an issue out of it - “and they certainly could have,” said a senior Democrat with close ties to the Chicago-based Obama 2012 campaign. Complicating matters, Team Obama closed its taxpayer-funded political office, the center of White House political coordination since the Carter administration and last run for Obama by Patrick Gaspard, now at the Democratic National Committee. The most significant result of a violation is dismissal. … Trump’s use of White House for campaign event may rewrite the norm Two weeks of finger-pointing and spectacle leave two Americas disunited, and other convention takeaways. President Donald Trump's recent musings about staging his Republican National Convention speech at the White House drew criticism from government ethics watchdogs and even one Republican senator, John Thune of South Dakota. 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