A long-shot candidate for U.S. Senate in Idaho is taking aim at the Forest Service for openly blaming Democrats for the federal shutdown.
A message on top of the agency’s website saying “Radical Left Democrats” shut down the government violates the Hatch Act, according to independent candidate Todd Achilles. The law prohibits federal offices from partisan politicking.
In the Oct. 3 complaint to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, Achilles — until recently a Democratic member of the Idaho House of Representatives, now challenging Republican Sen. Jim Risch — charged that Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz is in violation of the act for allowing the message to be posted.
“Aggressively partisan political messages on federal agency websites constitute not only a violation of the Hatch Act but also a violation of the nonpartisan standards that all Idahoans demand of Forest Service employees,” Achilles said.
