Labor oversight official faces ethics complaint for apparent congressional campaign moves

A government watchdog nonprofit on Tuesday requested an investigation into whether Anthony D’Esposito, the inspector general for the Labor Department, violated the Hatch Act, a law that restricts the political activity of civil servants. 

The Project on Government Oversight’s complaint to the Office of Special Counsel, which enforces that law, argues that the former GOP lawmaker ran afoul of ethics rules by seeming to take steps preparing for another congressional run as a confirmed IG, a position that oversees independent audits and investigations of agency operations. 

“We can't have inspectors general that are seen as attachments of the president or attachments of the agency,” said Joe Spielberger, a senior policy counsel at POGO, in an interview with Government Executive. “[If so] it means that when [the IGs] receive complaints, there's no guarantee that they will take those complaints seriously if they're directed against the executive branch or the party in power.”

In its complaint, POGO flagged several potential violations including:

• D’Esposito’s campaign committee is still active based on the Federal Election Commission’s website.
• Shortly after he was sworn in, he said during a radio interview that: “there’s no question that we’re exploring” a run for Congress,” “we’re doing the polling [and] we’re talking to people on the ground and we want to make sure that the resources are going to be there,” his Democratic successor is a “disastrous member of Congress” and that it’s important for Republican candidates to have funding to deliver effective campaign messaging. 
• Media reports that D’Esposito was planning to announce his candidacy. 

Under the Hatch Act, there is a prohibition on federal employees from being candidates in partisan elections, which extends to preliminary activities such as conducting polls, having campaign strategy meetings or authorizing others to take such actions on their behalf. The law also bars government workers from engaging in political activity in their official capacity and from soliciting or receiving political contributions.  

While D’Esposito ultimately opted not to enter the race, Spielberger argued that an OSC investigation is still warranted. 

“His decision to withdraw his name from potential candidacy doesn't absolve him from what are potentially previous violations of the Hatch Act,” he said. 

POGO’s complaint also notes that D’Esposito frequently shares political social media posts, such as ones criticizing Democratic immigration policies, praising congressional Republicans and echoing slogans associated with President Donald Trump. 

Under federal law, IGs are required to be appointed “without regard to political affiliation.” 

In an interview with Bloomberg Law published on Wednesday, however, D’Esposito said that he didn’t see any issue with his public statements. 

“I’m never going to shy away from the fact that I’m a conservative Republican,” he said. “I’m never going to shy away from the fact that I support the agenda, especially as it pertains to this office, just because I want to maintain an appearance. That’s absolutely ridiculous.”

In April, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington nonprofit requested that the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, an oversight body for the watchdogs, investigate D’Esposito over matters similarly raised by POGO. 

Trump recently nominated Charles Baldis to lead the OSC. Baldis is a former Senate staffer and current chief counsel at the agency who has been the designee of the OSC’s acting chief since spring 2025. 

The president’s first OSC nominee, Paul Ingrassia, withdrew in October 2025 following objections from Senate Republicans over reports of sexual harassment accusations and racist text messages. 

In March 2025, Trump removed the incumbent special counsel — Hampton Dellinger, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden — before the end of his five-year term. On one of the first days of his second term, the president also fired IGs at 18 agencies, including the DOL IG who D’Esposito later replaced. 

The DOL OIG did not respond to a request for comment, but D’Esposito has previously testified that he is “well aware of the Hatch Act.”