The White House on Thursday shrugged off Chief of Staff Ron Klain's violation of federal law, saying, "We are not perfect."
The Office of Special Counsel concluded that Klain in May broke the Hatch Act, which bars government employees from engaging in certain political behavior, when he retweeted a left-wing political action committee asking for donations, the Washington Free Beacon reported Wednesday. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded to the special counsel's findings by calling Klain "very careful."
"He fixed it as soon as it was pointed out, and takes the warning to be more careful seriously," she told reporters on Air Force One, adding, "We are not perfect. But our violations have been few."
But Klain's violation is likely the second Hatch Act violation by a senior White House official in less than a year. In Oct. 2021, a federal watchdog filed a federal complaint against then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki for breaking the law after she endorsed then-Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe's (D.) bid for office during a press briefing.
"I'll be more careful with my words next time, words certainly matter," Psaki said after the incident.
Klain's Twitter feed has caused various headaches for the White House. The Free Beacon previously reported on Klain using the social media platform to endorse such policies as a $23 minimum wage and sharing tweets that deemed skyrocketing inflation a "high-class" problem.