Lynne Patton, a regional administrator for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development during the Trump administration, was in hot water for abusing her power after staying in public housing for a month in 2019.
"The Office of Special Counsel on Tuesday announced a settlement agreement with former Trump Housing and Urban Development official Lynne Patton, who violated the Hatch Act by using her official role to produce a video for the 2020 Republican convention," reports Andrew Solender.
The news of the Hatch Act violation provides a coda to the controversial tenure of Patton in the Trump administration, during which the former regional administrator for New York and New Jersey made news for getting hired directly from a job planning weddings for the Eric Trump Foundation in addition to suggesting that public housing be privatized and for living in New York public housing for four weeks in a move widely derided as a publicity stunt. That stay in public housing is also connected to the video that eventually led to this settlement agreement.
As noted by Solender, Patton joins a small group of Trump administration officials to face punishment under the Hatch Act, although the administration was generally dismissive of the ethics law.
The Biden administration has pledged to uphold stricter standards regarding the Hatch Act, but newly appointed HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge has received an ethics complaint for promoting Ohio Democrats from the White House podium.
FULL STORY: Ex-Trump Official Fined For Hatch Act Violation Over GOP Video With Public Housing Residents
Trump Official Done with a Month-Long Stay in New York Public Housing
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Regional (HUD) Administrator Lynne Patton's decision to live in New York public housing for a month was called a publicity stunt. One thing it is for sure: over.
Trump Administration Suddenly Drops Fair Housing Concerns in Westchester, New York
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The pendulum swings on federal fair housing law.
‘Forward Together’ Bus System Redesign Rolling Out in Portland
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Plan to Potentially Remove Downtown Milwaukee’s Interstate Faces Public Scrutiny
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Can New York City Go Green Without Renewable Rikers?
New York City’s bold proposal to close the jail on Rikers Island and replace it with green infrastructure is in jeopardy. Will this compromise the city’s ambitious climate goals?
700-Acre Master-Planned Community Planned in Utah
A massive development plan is taking shape for lakefront property in Vineyard, Utah—on the site of a former U.S. Steel Geneva Works facility.
More Cities Ponder the End of Drive-Thrus
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Air Pollution World’s Worst Public Health Threat, Report Says
Air pollution is more likely to take years life off the lifespan of the average human than any other external factor, according to a recent report out of the University of Chicago.
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