Julián Castro Calls for Kellyanne Conway’s Removal Despite Violating Hatch Act Himself

Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway speaks to reporters outside the West Wing of t
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
Hannah Knudsen

Democrat presidential candidate Julián Castro is calling for Kellyanne Conway’s removal from federal service for supposedly violating the Hatch Act, despite the fact that the Office of Special Counsel found him in violation of the same thing in 2016.

The OSC pinned Conway as a “repeat offender” of the Hatch Act, which essentially prohibits certain federal employees from using their position to overtly engage in political campaign activities. Conway, OSC concluded, violated the act and therefore recommended her “removal from federal service.”

Surprisingly, Castro voiced support for Conway’s removal during a Fox News town hall Thursday evening, despite the fact that he faced a similar controversy in 2016.

At the time, Castro sat down for an interview with Katie Couric and explicitly expressed support for former Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

“Now, taking off my HUD hat for a second and just speaking individually, it is very clear that Hillary Clinton is the most experienced, thoughtful, and prepared candidate for president that we have this year,” Castro told Couric.

OSC ultimately found him in violation of the Hatch Act.

Nevertheless, Castro believes that the situations are incomparable.

“When you were HUD Secretary, the same agency accused you of the same thing. President Obama gave you a pass. Should President Trump give Kellyanne Conway a pass?” Fox News’s Bret Baier asked.

Castro’s short answer? No. He said the situation is different because he took immediate steps to change his ways.

“Instead of saying, ‘Look, I’m going to take these efforts to make sure that doesn’t happen again,’ she said, ‘To hell with that, I’m going to keep doing it.’ They said she had repeatedly done that. That’s the difference,” Castro explained.

“The true test of a leader is what do you do when you make that mistake,” he continued. “Are you big enough to own up to it and make sure you correct what you do in the future? Or do you basically do what [Conway] did, which is to say ‘no, I’m bigger than that.'”

“She did the wrong thing,” Castro added. “And I support the Office of Special Counsel’s determination that because she repeatedly violated it even though she was told it was a violation, she should be removed from office.”

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