President Biden’s self-promoting road signs bragging that he secured taxpayer money for infrastructure projects don’t cross the line into illegal campaign activity, the government’s chief Hatch Act watchdog has concluded.
The signs blare Mr. Biden’s name and the 2021 infrastructure law that the money comes from.
Several Republicans complained about the signs, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who called them “nothing more than campaign yard signs” that taxpayers paid for.
Mr. Cruz referred the issue to the Office of Special Counsel, which polices the line between politicking and official government business. The agency responded by saying Mr. Biden didn’t step too far.
“OSC has concluded that associating legislation with a particular president is not, by itself, political activity prohibited by the Hatch Act. Accordingly, OSC has closed these cases without finding violations,” the office said.
Mr. Cruz and other Republicans complained that Mr. Biden was misstating the facts about the 2021 law by labeling it “President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.”
The GOP lawmakers said Congress, not Mr. Biden, writes the laws.
The White House ordered federal agencies spending the infrastructure money to find ways to slap the president’s name on the signs, which had a logo that Mr. Cruz said looked suspiciously like Mr. Biden’s campaign logo.
Mr. Biden withdrew from the presidential race this summer, and Vice President Kamala Harris is now the Democrats’ nominee.
Her name doesn’t appear on the pro-Biden road signs.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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