342 CHAPTER 11|THE BUREAUCRACY
Limits on Political Activity
Federal employees are limited in their political activities. The Hatch Act, enacted
in 1939 and amended in 1940, prohibited federal employees from engaging in orga-
nized political activities:^53 employees could vote and contribute to candidates but
could not work for candidates or for political parties. These restrictions were mod-
ifi ed under the 1993 Federal Employees Political Activities Act, allowing federal
employees to undertake a wider range of political activities, including fund- raising
and serving as an offi cer of a political party. Senior members of the president’s
White House staff and political appointees are exempt from most of these restric-
tions, though they cannot use government resources for political activities.
These regulations make life diffi cult for presidential appointees whose job
duties often mix government service with politics, such as helping the president
they work for get reelected. Moreover, it is not completely clear which activities
these laws allow or prohibit. For example, in spring 2007, congressional Demo-
crats complained that Karl Rove, deputy White House chief of staff and
a close political adviser to President George W. Bush, had given brief-
ings to senior political appointees on Republican losses in the 2006
midterm elections and plans for the 2008 campaign. Although these
meetings had been approved as legal by the White House counsel, their
political content is obvious. During one briefi ng, the head of the General
Services Administration asked how her agency could help elect Repub-
lican candidates in 2008.^54 As a senior member of the White House
staff , Rove was exempt from the Hatch Act’s prohibitions, but the more
junior White House staff involved in the briefi ngs probably were not.
While ultimately no action was taken against Rove or his aides, this
example illustrates the ambiguities inherent in separating the political
and policy role of federal bureaucrats, especially those who work in the
White House.FEDERAL LAW PROHIBITS THE USE OF
government money, facilities, or
services for political activities.
Here, former Republican
representative Tom DeLay (left),
whose Texas district included
NASA’s Johnson Space Center,
attends an awards ceremony
with NASA administrator Michael
Griffi n. Although Griffi n fl ew to
Houston on a government plane
primarily to present awards to
NASA employees, his trip was
cited as an illegal use of funds
because his speech praised DeLay,
who was running for re-election.
THE PRESIDENT APPOINTS OVER
7,000 top offi cials in the executive
branch, including his closest
advisors. Political appointees
are usually selected based on
their loyalty to the president and
his policy goals. Here, some of
President Obama’s advisors work
to plan his visit to Baghdad in 2009.