On the Job and on the Stump, Cabinet Officials Flout Hatch Act

President Donald Trump and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue appeared at a vegetable packing facility in Mills River, N.C., on Aug. 24 with a core message of announcing a $1 billion boost to the Farmers to Families Food Box program, which sends food to those in need.

But Perdue raised eyebrows when he told the crowd that programs like Farmers to Families are “what’s going to continue to happen—four more years—if America gets out and votes for this man, Donald J. Trump.”

The Office of Special Counsel ruled on Oct. 8 that Perdue’s comments violated the 81-year-old Hatch Act, which clamps ...