The Hatch Act is designed to protect the rule of law The Hatch Act of 1939 imposes strict limits on most federal civilian workers who want to engage in political activity, and some Cabinet departments augment these statutory limits with additional policies intended to maintain a clear wall of separation between partisan politics and nonpartisan government functions. These restrictions on government workers exist for two interlocking reasons. As the Supreme Court explained “it is in the best interest of the country, indeed essential, that federal service should depend upon meritorious performance rather than political service.” Within the Trump White House, however, the Hatch Act and similar restrictions are reportedly viewed with contempt.
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