US President Donald Trump on Wednesday informed that there are high chances of him giving his acceptance speech for a second term nomination from the South Lawn of White House, ditching an age old ritual.
“We’re thinking about it. It would be the easiest from the standpoint of security,” Trump told Fox News.
While the idea may seem beneficiary to Trump, conducting a political event as big as this might turn out to be a nightmare for the staff in charge.
Legals experts has said that Trump’s announcement would violate the federal Hatch Act by conducting such an event at the White House. According to the Hatch Act, U.S. government employees are banned from indulging in any political activities during work hours, while in a government building or while wearing a government uniform.
The law isn’t applicable for President and the vice President, therefore planning anything like this would be legal for Trump. However, everyone who works at the White House are not exempt from the law.
“There is a legitimate objection to this. It’s never been done before and it involves massive use of White House personnel,” said Richard Painter, the chief White House ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration.
Legals experts has said that Trump’s announcement would violate the federal Hatch Act by conducting such an event at the White House. According to the Hatch Act, U.S. government employees are banned from indulging in any political activities during work hours, while in a government building or while wearing a government uniform.
“There is a legitimate objection to this. It’s never been done before and it involves massive use of White House personnel,” said Richard Painter, the chief White House ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration.
Meanwhile, talking about planning the event at the White House, Trump said, “”It’s a very big operation.” “We’re thinking about doing it from the White House because there’s no movement. It’s easy. And I think it’s a beautiful setting.”
He also added that it would be “by far the least expensive from the country standpoint,” he said. However, he has also mentioned that he “could go somewhere else” if someone had difficulty with it for some reason.