NOW PLAYING
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oreg.) on Monday asked the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) to investigate whether Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. violated the Hatch Act last month when he spoke with two candidates running for congressional office.
In a letter to Acting Special Counsel Jamieson Greer, Wyden requested that he “immediately open an investigation” into Kennedy’s contact with two Libertarian candidates in June and whether these interactions violated the Hatch Act.
The Hatch Act of 1939 limits federal employees from participating in certain political activities.
Wyden cited two instances in which Kennedy may have violated the Hatch Act by encouraging two Libertarian candidates in Iowa to drop out of their respective races.
In a phone call to Libertarian House candidate Marco Battaglia of Iowa’s 3rd congressional district, Kennedy reportedly said, “If this seat flips, it’ll make my life hell,”. The district’s incumbent Congressman Zach Nunn (R-Iowa), currently running for reelection, also visited Battaglia’s home and reportedly told him, “We’ll make you the poster boy for election integrity, and we’ll hang out with Robert Kennedy Jr.”
Democrat Sarah Trone Garriott is currently running to unseat Nunn and polling from earlier this year suggested the race would be tight, with Ragnar Research finding in March that Trone Garriott received 42 percent of support while Nunn received 48 percent, leaving 10 percent to “Other.”
In a phone call to Rick Stewart, another Libertarian House candidate running to represent Iowa’s 2nd congressional district, Kennedy reportedly suggested Stewart could find another position within federal government outside of elected office, adding that he would help him accomplish this.
Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) currently represents the state’s 2nd district but is running to replace Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who is not seeking reelection at the end of her current term. Candidates running to replace her seat include Republican Joe Mitchell and Democrat Lindsay James.
Last month, the Cook Political Report shifted their projections for the district from being “likely Republican” to “lean Republican,” indicating Mitchell’s victory in historically red Iowa was not entirely secure. With Stewart and Independent Dave Bushaw, there are four candidates running for Hinson’s seat.
“Secretary Kennedy called Stewart in his official capacity as a member of the President’s cabinet, and he asked that Stewart suspend his campaign in order to make it easier for the Republican candidate to win the race, easier for the Republican Party to maintain its majority in the House of Representatives, and easier for Kennedy to personally avoid Congressional subpoenas from Democratic committee chairs,” Wyden wrote in his letter to Greer.
“Iowa’s voters should be able to freely choose who represents them in Congress, and our democracy does not allow political appointees to take that power away from them by deleting candidates from the ballot.”
Wyden wrote that it was “likely” that Kennedy’s “election interference activities” went beyond the two phone calls he made to the Iowa candidates.
The Hill has reached out to HHS for comment on Wyden’s letter.
Add as preferred source on Google Tags Ashley Hinson election interference hatch act Iowa Joni Ernst Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Ron Wyden Zach NunnCopyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Comments: Link copiedMore Campaign News
See All
News Trump knocks congressman he pardoned, says he is now ‘fighting’ Cuellar by Finya Swai 3 hours ago News / 3 hours ago 
