Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke deleted an online photo of his "Make America Great Again" socks after being informed he was possibly in violation of federal law.
Zinke acknowledged his "mistake" after initially boasting of his attire on Twitter on Tuesday. "Breaking in new socks on a hike with the governors today," the leader of the
Department of the Interior wrote from South Dakota, where is attending a meeting of the
Western Governors Association.
But the
Center for Western Priorities and others on Twitter pointed out that federal
rules bar employees from wearing campaign slogans while on official business.
"For example, while on duty or in the workplace, employees may not: wear, display, or distribute items with the slogan 'Make America Great Again' or any other materials from President Trump’s 2016 or 2020 campaigns," the
Office of Special Counsel said in March after President Donald Trump said he was running for re-election.
Zinke later said he posted the socks "not realizing it had what could be viewed as a political slogan." But after deleting the original image, he replaced it with one in which the words "Make America Great Again" were blocked out.
"I remain excited about all the incredible policy work POTUS is doing," Zinke wrote in the
new post with the censored image. A depiction of Trump can still be seen in the photo.
Zinke has on occasion posted photos of his colorful socks on social media. One set he
wore shortly after taking office in March 2017 features a cowboy riding a horse.
Last November, Zinke took part in
#RockYourMocs week. He wore a pair of moccasins that he said came from the
Crow Tribe.
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