Republican AGs accuse Biden's education secretary of 'flagrant' Hatch Act violations

FIRST ON FOX: Two Republican attorneys general are reporting that Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona violated the Hatch Act in connection to recent comments about President Biden's student loan forgiveness plans. 

Attorneys General Austin Knudsen of Montana and Kris Kobach of Kansas wrote to the Hatch Act unit special counsel on Wednesday to inform the office that statements by the office and Cardona "appear to violate the Hatch Act because, among other things, the statements were on duty partisan political statements made in their respective official capacities, and the statements were for the apparent purpose of affecting the outcome of the 2024 Presidential election." 

"The violations appear to be flagrant, such that a substantial penalty is warranted," the attorneys general wrote. 

The Hatch Act is a federal law that limits political activity of federal employees. 

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Education Secretary Miguel Cardona (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images/File)

Knudsen and Kobach argue that "just ten days after the Supreme Court’s rebuke" of Biden's student loan debt relief plan, the Department of Education "finalized a plan purporting to abolish at least $156 billion in student debt to much fanfare by President Biden and Vice President Harris." 

The Supreme Court last year struck down Biden's student loan forgiveness plan, ruling that the administration overstepped its authority when it tried to wipe out $400 billion in debt.

"The timing of the Biden-Harris Administration’s debt cancellation plans makes plain their pretextual nature. The first round of debt relief was rushed out in time for the 2022 elections in a transparent bread-and-circuses attempt to boost base turnout and, in essence, buy votes with federal funds," the AGs wrote in their letter.

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Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach (AP Photo/John Hanna/File)

"This second round of debt cancellation also – by remarkable coincidence – was set to take effect shortly before the 2024 election," they said.

Knudsen and Kobach said that a letter sent from Cardona on official government letterhead is in violation of the Hatch Act.

"Biden and I are determined to lower costs for student loan borrowers, to make repaying student debt affordable and realistic, and to build on our separate efforts that have already provided relief to 4.75 million Americans – no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stop us," Cardona said in the July 15 letter.

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President Biden speaks about student loan debt at Madison College, April 8, 2024, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci/File)

"While we disagree with the Republican elected officials’ efforts here to side with special interests and block borrowers from getting breathing room on their student loans, President Biden and our Administration will not stop fighting to make sure Americans have affordable access to the lifechanging opportunities a higher education can provide," Cardona wrote.

According to Knudsen and Kobach, "Both statements appear to violate the Hatch Act, and both flagrantly attack elected State officials on the basis of their party affiliation."

The attorneys general said Cardona "consciously chose to use government resources for political activities, including to affect the upcoming Presidential election. In view of the repeated, flagrant violations of the Hatch Act, a significant penalty is warranted."

A spokesperson for the Department of Education said in a statement to Fox News Digital, "The statements were factually accurate descriptions of the lawsuits, were for the purpose of addressing potential borrower confusion about the status of their loans in the wake of the court decisions, and did not violate the Hatch Act."

Brianna Herlihy is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.