President Trump is now the White House hosting his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention. He has already canceled plans for festivities in Jacksonville, Florida and Charlotte, North Carolina.
“Well, we’re thinking about it. It would be less difficult from a security standpoint,” Fox and Friends told Fox and Friends Wednesday. “We’re thinking of doing it from the White House because there’s no movement. It’s easy, and I think it’s a lovely setting and we’re thinking about it. This is one of the alternatives. It’s the simplest alternative.” The president later added that while some speeches will be virtual, others will be live in places in Washington, D.C. “I’m going to do mine Thursday night and it will be live.”
But his suggestion raised legal and moral questions about the federal government’s cash cross-examination activities.
The Hatch Act prohibits the use of government buildings and workers for crusader activities, with some exceptions. While the president and vice president are exempt, any White House or government worker who is helping to facilitate crusade activity would likely violate federal law.
“Is it even legal?” Republican Sen. John Thune told reporters questioned about the president’s plans. “I guess it’s not something you can just do,” the Republican senator from South Dakota said, raising a “Hatch Act problem” imaginable. The senator added, “I think everything you do with federal assets is problematic.”
But the president defended the concept Wednesday, calling it a “very practical concept” at a White House press conference. “Well, it’s legal,” Trump said. “There is no Hatch law because it is not afraid of the president. But if I use the White House, we save huge sums of money for the government in terms of security, travel. If we move to another state, to another place, the amount of cash is very massive, so it’s also worth it.”
While enforcement of the Hatch Act rests on the president, who has previously avoided taking any action to uphold the federal law, the Republican Party would be responsible for covering the cost of any political event.
“The campaign still needs to pay for the event,” Kedric Payne, general counsel and senior director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center tells CBS News. “How does the campaign reimburse for expenses like the cost of the White House lawn?”
In addition to the Hatch Act, Payne noted that federal criminal law prohibits the president and vice president of White House staff from interacting in political activities. “If the assistance of government workers facilitates a political occasion because the boss tells them, this is President Trump. Trump is not exempt from the law, which prohibits him from forcing government workers to engage in political activities.”
Party officials planning the convention are considering the White House South Lawn as a possible locale for the acceptance speech. According to Republicans familiar with planning, the three nights of programming will feature a combination of live events and virtual livestreams.
Deputy communications director for the Republican National Committee Rick Gorka told CBS News the GOP is “working through a lot of plans to make sure that we have the online content and the digital content, and maybe some in-person events as we again make the case for what the president has done over the last four years and why he deserves another term.” Gorka added that national monuments were a “possibility” for the Republican spectacle. “There’s a lot of beautiful monuments across this country,” he said. “A lot of options from the St. Louis Arch, I know we had a great event at Mount Rushmore. We have some great national parks and great open places. There’s a lot to showcase about this country.”
The Washington Post first reported Tuesday night that both the South Lawn and Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., are being floated as venues for the president’s acceptance speech.
Legal experts note previous officeholders have confined political activity in the White House by hosting political events in the president’s residential quarters. “The sensible position would be as risk averse as possible,” John Holcomb, professor of business ethics and legal studies at the University of Denver told CBS News. “Go to the basement, go to the [White House] residence, the Trump hotel, and then straighten out any financial reimbursement issues, which would ultimately come back to the RNC. And if necessary, get the White House staff out of the way, who might be potentially legally vulnerable.”
Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez told called the president’s suggestion of a White House political speech “ethically breathtaking.” In an interview with MSNBC, Perez said, “It would be a nonstarter for any Democrat running. That is so unethical. But there’s no surprise there.”
The coronavirus pandemic, which continues to increase in many states, has set aside draft agreements between the two sides. Democratic organizers announced Wednesday that Joe Biden would not go to Milwaukee to settle for his party’s nomination, choosing instead to face his home state of Delaware.
For his part, President Trump previously planned to accept his party’s nomination in person before thousands in an arena in Charlotte. The president uprooted party festivities to Jacksonville after North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat, cited public health concerns amid spiking COVID-19 numbers. Mr. Trump later called off Jacksonville festivities amid an influx of new Florida coronavirus cases.
“It’s remarkable to see all of the planning that has gone into the 2020 convention, adapting to the changing public health dynamic,” a former senior official charged with planning GOP conventions told CBS News. “And then to just see all of that go away. That’s insane.”
The Trump campaign deferred to the White House on questions of ethics and legality. White House officials told CBS News, “The president is not subject to the Hatch Act” but did not address potential implications for administration staff. The RNC did not immediately respond to request for comment.
The Trump family has faced criticism for profiting from the president’s reelection bid amid the pandemic.
President Trump told Fox News that he would join him through the first lady, who is also making plans for a speech on the Republican conference program, as well as Trump’s allies, Matt Gaetz and Jim Jordan. “I’m probably going to go on to do mine live from the White House,” the president added. “If, for some reason, someone has a problem with that, it might happen somewhere else.”
Major Garrett, Ed O’Keefe, Adam Brewster and Corey Rangel contributed to this report.