Rep Huffman Leads Lawmakers Decrying Federal Communications Commissioner Using Official Position to Advance Project 2025

We respectfully request that the Office of Special Counsel, Office of Government Ethics, and Office of the Inspector General of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) investigate possible ethics violations by Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr. We are concerned that Commissioner Carr may be misusing his official position as an executive-level employee of the FCC to craft and advance a political playbook to influence the presidential election in favor of Donald Trump, in violation of the Hatch Act (5 U.S.C. §§ 7321-7326) and the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch (5 U.S.C. § 2635). In April 2023, a network of former Trump officials and archconservative organizations came together under the leadership of the Heritage Foundation to produce the 2025 Presidential Transition Project (Project 2025) with the self-declared “goal of shaping policy decisions among presidential candidates.” Project 2025 lays out a detailed roadmap for a conservative presidential administration to consolidate power in the presidency and gut checks and balances. The President of the Heritage Foundation, Kevin Roberts, claims that Project 2025 is “institutionalizing Trumpism.” Paul Dans, the Director of Project 2025 and Trump’s former Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), also noted during the Republican primary that his affiliates expect and “and hope” that Trump will ultimately end up in office again. It is alarming that Commissioner Carr was one of many Trump appointees to participate in this endeavor. Although federal employees may certainly express their private opinions or engage in political activity in their personal capacity, they may not do so in their official capacity. Despite this requirement, Commissioner Carr used his official title to author the chapter of Project 2025 about the FCC.