The White House has rejected accusations by former government lawyers that a tweet by a top aide to President Donald Trump violated the Hatch Act, which forbids government officials from using their officials positions to influence voters, ABC News reported on Sunday.
"Dan Scavino's tweet does not violate the Hatch Act as it clearly comes from his personal account and not his official White House account," the official said. "He created an official account upon entering the White House to ensure compliance with the Hatch Act and he has taken the necessary steps to ensure there is a clear distinction between both Twitter accounts."
Scavino, who is White House director of social media, openly called for the defeat in a Republican primary of Rep. Justin Amash, who is a member of the House Freedom Caucus, the group Trump blames for derailing the GOP healthcare plan.
Richard Painter, a former chief ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration, ridiculed the argument of the White House official.
Daniel Jacobson, a former lawyer for the Obama administration, made a similar argument.
ABC pointed out that Scavino appeared to be sensitive to this criticism, as he changed the cover photo of his Twitter account from a picture of Trump speaking at a podium with the presidential seal to another photo of Trump without the presidential seal.
When asked why Scavino had changed his profile picture, the White House officials declined to answer.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.