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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchFederal agencies cannot use public money simply to promote the President as a person, candidate, or political ally. They may use properly available funds to explain and defend official agency or Administration policies when the communication serves an authorized government purpose. The line depends on the specific message, its connection to agency duties, the appropriation paying for it, and any applicable anti-lobbying or agency-specific restrictions.
Start with the purpose of the money
The first question is not whether a message makes the President look good. It is whether the agency may use the particular funds for the activity. Under 31 U.S.C. § 1301(a), appropriations may be used only for the objects for which Congress made them, except as otherwise provided by law. A communications plan therefore needs a connection to the agency’s statutory responsibilities and to the terms of the appropriation being charged.
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This is a purpose test, not a rule that any favorable reference to the President makes an expenditure unlawful. A federal agency may have a legitimate need to tell the public what a government program does, explain a policy it administers, or answer criticism of that policy. If that information also reflects favorably on the Administration, that fact alone does not turn it into prohibited political promotion.
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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →The reverse is also true: using official channels or describing a message as “public information” does not establish that it serves an agency function. The substance and purpose matter. A communication with no meaningful connection to agency work, whose purpose is to aid a political party or candidate, presents a serious appropriations-law concern.
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How GAO distinguishes policy communication from partisan promotion
Government Accountability Office (GAO) decisions recognize agencies’ role in informing the public about government and agency policies. In a 1973 decision, GAO described exposition of agency and Administration policies as part of that public-information role. It concluded that the communications before it did not violate the cited restrictions; among the facts it discussed was that they did not urge listeners to contact members of Congress about pending legislation.
Later GAO decisions describe the governmentwide publicity-or-propaganda restriction as addressing self-aggrandizing, covert, and purely partisan communications. In this context, “purely partisan” describes material that is completely political in nature and lacks a connection to official agency duties. The key distinction is between communicating about policy as part of government work and using public resources for political advocacy detached from that work.
In its HHS appropriations decision, B-329199, GAO warned that treating any political content or support for an Administration policy as forbidden would unduly restrict agencies’ recognized authority to inform the public, justify policies, and rebut attacks on them. That principle does not grant agencies unlimited latitude: it explains why political valence alone is not conclusive. A policy can be politically contentious and still be an official agency matter; a message praising the President can be political promotion even if it mentions government programs.
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| Communication pattern | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Explains an agency program, its implementation, or an Administration policy the agency carries out | A connection to official duties can support treating the communication as legitimate public information, subject to the appropriation and other restrictions. |
| Defends an agency policy or responds to criticism of it | GAO recognizes that agencies may justify their policies and rebut attacks; political controversy by itself does not settle whether the spending is proper. |
| Promotes the President as a candidate or aids a political party, with no meaningful agency purpose | A candidate- or party-centered purpose detached from agency duties raises the core concern about impermissible partisan use of appropriated funds. |
| Uses hidden sponsorship or self-congratulatory publicity | Covert presentation and self-aggrandizement are among the categories GAO has identified as restricted publicity or propaganda concerns. |
These are analytical guideposts, not a safe-harbor checklist. A real communication may have mixed purposes or facts pointing in different directions. Its wording, design, audience, timing, and relationship to an agency function should be reviewed together rather than relying on a single phrase or disclaimer.
A practical review for a proposed post, video, event, or publication
Before committing funds, an agency can document the following questions. They help distinguish a government communication from a political promotion effort and identify where specialized review is needed.
- Identify the public purpose. State the agency responsibility or program the communication serves. Describe what the audience needs to know and why the agency, rather than a campaign or political organization, is communicating it.
- Identify the funding source. Name the appropriation or other funds proposed for the cost, then check whether their purpose and any conditions permit the expenditure. Section 1301(a) makes this an essential part of the analysis, not an administrative afterthought.
- Read the message as a whole. Ask whether its substance provides useful information about agency work or instead centers on personal praise, electoral prospects, or party advantage. A passing reference to the President does not answer that question; neither does a policy label if the communication is actually candidate-centered.
- Check attribution and presentation. Consider whether a reasonable reader can tell that the communication comes from the agency, and whether its tone is informational or self-congratulatory. GAO’s treatment of covert and self-aggrandizing communications makes transparency and presentation relevant to the review.
- Look for a request to lobby Congress. Determine whether the communication clearly asks members of the public to contact Congress in support of or opposition to pending legislation. If so, separate anti-lobbying restrictions need to be examined.
- Review employee conduct separately. If employees participate, assess whether their political activity is restricted by the Hatch Act rules on duty time, federal workplaces, official insignia, or government vehicles. Do not treat this as a substitute for reviewing the expenditure itself.
- Check special rules that apply to this agency and year. Review the agency’s current appropriation and any specific statutory restriction. General GAO decisions do not resolve every agency-specific or fiscal-year-specific condition.
For example, an agency video explaining how a program works could serve an official information function even if the President’s policy is mentioned. A video whose principal point is to praise the President personally, with no meaningful explanation of the program or agency responsibility, raises a different and more serious question. Neither example can be resolved solely by its format or by whether it appears on an official account; the purpose, content, funding, and applicable restrictions must be considered.
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Anti-lobbying rules create a separate boundary
Some appropriations restrictions separately bar grassroots lobbying with agency funds. In the GAO decisions described here, the important signal is a clear appeal to the public to contact Congress in support of or opposition to pending legislation. General explanation of an agency policy is not automatically the same thing as that kind of appeal.
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Communications from the executive branch to Congress in normal and recognized executive-legislative relationships are treated differently under the provisions GAO discusses. The precise restriction can depend on the agency and the fiscal year, so an agency should not assume that a rule or conclusion from another agency or year controls its proposal. A public message that combines policy explanation with a request to lobby lawmakers deserves particular review.
The Hatch Act addresses employees, not the agency’s appropriation
The Hatch Act presents a related but distinct issue: political activity by covered federal employees. The statute generally bars covered employees from engaging in political activity while on duty, in a room or building occupied for federal official duties, while wearing an official uniform or insignia, or while using a government-owned or leased vehicle, subject to statutory exceptions. The relevant statutory definition of “employee” excludes the President and Vice President.
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That exclusion does not answer whether an agency may spend funds on a communication. The Hatch Act question is about the conduct of covered employees; the appropriations question is about the purpose and permissibility of the expenditure. One communication can raise both issues, but each requires its own analysis.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel’s Hatch Act FAQ illustrates why online conduct needs careful distinctions: it says a federal employee may follow or like the President’s official social-media account even after the President begins a reelection campaign, while other on-duty political activity remains restricted. That limited example is not blanket permission for campaign activity through government accounts, on government time, or with agency funds.
A narrow, direct prohibition: official portraits
Congress has enacted a specific prohibition on using federal funds to pay for a portrait of the President, Vice President, a Member of Congress, or specified federal officials. The rule appears at 31 U.S.C. § 1355. It is a direct restriction concerning the President, but it is not a general rule that decides whether a speech, social post, event, or policy-information campaign may be funded.
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What this means for a particular expenditure
There is no universal yes-or-no answer for every agency message. The strongest case for allowable spending is a transparent communication that conveys information tied to the agency’s responsibilities, uses an appropriation available for that purpose, and complies with any applicable limits. The strongest warning signs are a candidate- or party-centered purpose, no meaningful link to official duties, covert presentation, self-aggrandizing content, an appeal to lobby Congress about pending legislation, or a specific restriction on the funds.
Because appropriations language can change from year to year and some agencies face additional restrictions, the analysis must be specific to the agency, the fiscal year, the proposed communication, and the source of funds. The general principles explain how to frame the question; they do not determine the legality of a proposal whose facts and appropriation have not been identified.
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