Federal Election Commission Filings Show D’Esposito Campaign Continued to Accept Donations Despite Denials During Confirmation Process
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ranking Member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, are demanding answers from Department of Labor Inspector General (DOL IG) Anthony D’Esposito regarding concerns about potential Hatch Act violations following public reports that he is preparing to resign from his position and run for New York’s Fourth Congressional District.
The senators’ letter follows recent reporting on March 4th, 2026, that D’Esposito was intending to launch his campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives and resign from his role as DOL IG, a job he has held for just over two months. Committee staff also identified Federal Election Commission filings showing that D’Esposito continued reporting campaign receipts and disbursements to the Federal Election Commission as late as December 31, 2025, well after his initial confirmation to the role on December 18, 2025. In his confirmation hearing before the Committee, D’Esposito denied that he was actively campaigning or receiving contributions.
“Congress enacted the Hatch Act to ensure that government employees do not allow partisan politics to interfere with serving the American people. Further, an Inspector General is expected to maintain an even greater level of non-partisan independence than other federal employees. You have a responsibility to be transparent with Congress and with the public regarding any political activity you have undertaken since taking office as Inspector General,” wrote the senators.
The Hatch Act, a federal law enacted in 1939, prevents federal employees from engaging in certain political activities to prevent conflicts of interest and ensure that federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan manner. D’Esposito’s knowledgeable acceptance of campaign donations presents a clear violation of the Hatch Act, which explicitly prohibits any federal employee from running for political office, including undertaking exploratory activities, and accepting political campaign contributions. Further, Peters and Blumenthal expressed concern regarding D’Esposito’s role as Inspector General, an explicitly nonpartisan role which further restricts participation in partisan political campaigns.
In their letter,Peters and Blumenthal ask for Inspector General D’Esposito to disclose whether his former campaign committee has received any contributions since he took office in January and to detail any preparatory or exploratory activities related to a future campaign in New York’s Fourth Congressional District.
Text of the letter can be found here.
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