DOT slammed over infrastructure meme with some saying it violates the law
'This appears to be lobbying,' one user tweeted
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Biden’s Department of Transportation is being slammed on social media over a meme promoting his Build Back Better agenda with some people accusing the department of improperly lobbying.
The meme, posted by the Department of Transportation on Friday, is in the form of a popular meme format where a man and a woman are texting each other in bed from different places.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Joe Biden points to the Oval Office of the White House as he arrives on Marine One on the South Lawn in Washington, Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021, as he returns from Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
"What are you thinking about?" the woman asks the man.
"I’m thinking about how the new infrastructure law is going to make getting from place to place so much better over the next decade and how when combined with the Build Back Better Act, it will create millions of new jobs," the man responds.
"Same," the woman says back with a smiley face emoji.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The meme was criticized by many online from those who didn’t find it funny as well as from those who suggested the department had improperly lobbied for specific legislation, in this case the $1.75 trillion Build Back Better bill being debated in Congress.
"This appears to be lobbying," former California Assemblyman and Vice-President of the Texas Public Policy Foundation tweeted. "I didn't think federal agencies were allowed to be so blatant in promoting specific legislation. The Secretary of Transportation can, of course, but the DOT's official website? Seems unusual."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Congress has enacted federal laws on the use of federal funds that prohibit agencies and employees from "lobbying" the Congress or the public in favor of legislation that is pending in Congress although it is unclear if the tweet from the Department of Transportation violates that law.
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 13: U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg does a television interview with CNBC outside the White House October 13, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which typically investigates Hatch Act violations, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was accused of a Hatch Act violation earlier this year and promised to "choose my words more carefully" in the future after commenting on the Virginia gubernatorial race from the White House press room podium.